I have my laptop back and have a few minutes to sit and write about how things are going. I know it has been a long time since I have updated the blog, for which I do apologize. Life gets very busy around here and I lose track of how much time has gone by.
I know the question on every body's mind is "how is Misha doing?" He is doing wonderful. He is a great fit for our family and is adjusting to life here even better than I expected. He just belongs here, and it feels like he has always been here. I know it is hard for some of you to understand having never experienced adoption. It is kind of like having a new baby. Before the baby is born you can't imagine what life is going to really be like with the baby. You don't know if the baby is going to be a screamer or quiet, sleep well or up all night, mild-tempered or easily agitated, or anything else. But then, after you have the baby, you can't imagine life without him or her. It is your new life and you wouldn't have it any other way. That is how it is with adoption, even with teenagers. You don't know what their personality is, what their issues are, what they will like or dislike about your home and family, or anything else. But then, you get them home and you can't imagine life without them. God supernaturally gives a mom and dad that parental love for an adopted child the same as he gives it to the biological mom and dad when their baby is born. Just like our adoption into the heavenly kingdom. God takes us from where we are when we accept him as our Lord and loves us with a love that is greater and deeper than we can ever comprehend. I love my children so much it takes my breath away to think about trying to express how much. But I know God loves them even more than I do. What an amazing God!!
Now, back to Misha. We have taken him for a few more doctor's appointments, which he hates. Ukraine has a lot more Tuberculosis than we do here in America so we had a TB skin test for Misha before school, which tested positive. After blood work and a chest x-ray they have decided that Misha does not have Tuberculosis but has been exposed to it and carries the "TB germ". So, we are giving him a medication that will kill any dormant germ in his system just make sure he can't develop TB at some point in the future from a past exposure. During the process of checking all of this out the doctor noticed that Misha has a pocket of air in his abdomen. According to the doctor, he has more air in his abdomen than he has in his lungs. He has built up this pocket of air slowly over a number of years. If someone were to have this much air collect over a short time they would be laying on the floor screaming in pain. But because Misha has built it up slowly over a number of years he does not feel pain, he is acclimated to having that air there. He just doesn't know how much better he is going to feel when that air is gone!! What this means is the surgery he had as an infant did not remove all of the defective part of his colon and he will have surgery to remove the remaining non-functioning part. I am waiting for a call from the gastroenterologist he has been referred to so we can schedule an office visit and begin this process. We were expecting to have food problems since Misha has a history of stomach discomfort but we really haven't had the problems we expected. He eats pretty much anything I cook and has only told me his stomach hurt a couple of times. He prefers Ukrainian bread over American bread, which is expected since the texture of their bread is so different than the texture of our bread. He also misses the great soups he had in Ukraine, which I just can't seem to cook just right. I have made Borscht, which I thought was good but it just wasn't as good as what they made at the center.
School has started. Misha seems to have a great group of teachers. They have all expressed an interest in making sure Misha is comfortable and able to learn in their class. The homework is going pretty well. I have only had to turn away one assignment so far, which is really great. We will be doing homework again a little bit later today. We have to write a letter so we will have to see how that goes. Nobody enjoys homework, but Misha seems to understand that he must do the homework and doesn't fight me over it. That makes things so much easier.
The language is coming along pretty well. Misha has learned enough words now to start putting sentences together. He can definitely make himself understood when he needs to, even if he has to look things up in his translation dictionary or on Google Translate. Being in school will help his language skills progress even more quickly now than during the summer when he was home most of the time. Josh helps with the translation on rare occasion when we really need something important translated and make sure he understands. Otherwise, we communicate directly with Misha and work on his (and our) communication skills.
Soccer practices should be starting soon. Misha is looking forward to playing soccer. He is concerned about having enough time to play soccer and keep up with his homework. Imagine that!! I told him that they practice for only a couple of hours a week and only play games on Saturdays so it should not interfere too much. I think it will be good for him to have a physical outlet to help keep his stress level down. One can drop a lot of stress running around kicking a ball with a group of friends.
We did manage to get the bats out of the house. Praising Jesus for that!! There are some animals we just aren't meant to share our home with. I am happy know they are gone.
All in all, I just want to say that we are incredibly blessed. God has melded us together so well it is as if the family has always been structured like this. The attitudes within the family and from others with strong influence in the family are positive and encouraging. I can't ask for things to go better. God has been good to us!! I am praying that Misha will make friends with godly boys and girls at school and at church. I am also praying that God's healing touch will be on Misha as we work towards getting his intestinal issues resolved. Please keep praying for us as we continue our journey that God has laid before us. God bless you all.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Computer problems
In case you are wondering, I have not dropped off the face of the earth. My laptop is in the shop. One of my boys accidentally stepped on the charging cord while it was plugged in and pulled the charging port out of the laptop. It will be a few days still before I will get it back. I am borrowing m son's computer now to try to catch up on some things.
As for what's going on.... way too much!!! We are getting ready for school to start here soon, which involves trips to the doctors for eye exams, new glasses, updated vaccinations, registration for school, shopping for supplies and any other things needed before school starts. The first day of school here is August 7th so we don't have too much more time to prepare. We still have dental appointments, medical exams, and a GI doctor appointment.
In addition to all of that going on we have discovered that bats are living over our carport so we are having them extracted this week. We have to move Anthony out of his apartment by the 31st and bring his stuff home for about one week and then move it back up to get him set up in another apartment. Alex has started Massage Therapy school and Mark will be starting Community College soon. So, beginning in August we will have three kids in advanced education of some sort, one in high school and one in middle school.
Misha is learning English very well. I have been teaching him some of the basic information he will need to know right away and he is picking it up very quickly. I will begin tailoring his language learning to his homework schedule when school starts. I have also been teaching a friend's daughter who is close to the same age as Misha, which has been fun. The two of them compete with each other to see who can do best, which encourages them to study more. At first I was not certain that the sense of competition would be good for them and started to make them stop. I didn't want one of them to develop a lack of confidence with their skills if the other really took off well, but it really has proven to be beneficial. They have a lot of fun with it and nobody has been offended or upset with any part of it yet that I know of. They each do well at times and miss things at times so it evens out.
Misha is still getting along with the family very well. Vernon loves to tease and play around with Misha and he just eats it up. He loves to tease people himself and dishes out just as much as he receives. It is particularly amusing to watch him play around with Mark's girlfriend Deana. Josh and Misha get along pretty very well also. They really seem to be coming along with the brotherly relationship building. At church Misha has started attending his age-appropriate Sunday School class on Sunday mornings and the youth services on Wednesday night. His initial opinion is that the American kids are crazy, but I think he will enjoy the more upbeat younger style of worship soon. I am really praying he will make good friends who will encourage him and help him feel that he fits in.
I have been incredibly blessed with a very full life surrounded by people I love. Even when things are so crazy I know that it is all blessings. God is good!!
As for what's going on.... way too much!!! We are getting ready for school to start here soon, which involves trips to the doctors for eye exams, new glasses, updated vaccinations, registration for school, shopping for supplies and any other things needed before school starts. The first day of school here is August 7th so we don't have too much more time to prepare. We still have dental appointments, medical exams, and a GI doctor appointment.
In addition to all of that going on we have discovered that bats are living over our carport so we are having them extracted this week. We have to move Anthony out of his apartment by the 31st and bring his stuff home for about one week and then move it back up to get him set up in another apartment. Alex has started Massage Therapy school and Mark will be starting Community College soon. So, beginning in August we will have three kids in advanced education of some sort, one in high school and one in middle school.
Misha is learning English very well. I have been teaching him some of the basic information he will need to know right away and he is picking it up very quickly. I will begin tailoring his language learning to his homework schedule when school starts. I have also been teaching a friend's daughter who is close to the same age as Misha, which has been fun. The two of them compete with each other to see who can do best, which encourages them to study more. At first I was not certain that the sense of competition would be good for them and started to make them stop. I didn't want one of them to develop a lack of confidence with their skills if the other really took off well, but it really has proven to be beneficial. They have a lot of fun with it and nobody has been offended or upset with any part of it yet that I know of. They each do well at times and miss things at times so it evens out.
Misha is still getting along with the family very well. Vernon loves to tease and play around with Misha and he just eats it up. He loves to tease people himself and dishes out just as much as he receives. It is particularly amusing to watch him play around with Mark's girlfriend Deana. Josh and Misha get along pretty very well also. They really seem to be coming along with the brotherly relationship building. At church Misha has started attending his age-appropriate Sunday School class on Sunday mornings and the youth services on Wednesday night. His initial opinion is that the American kids are crazy, but I think he will enjoy the more upbeat younger style of worship soon. I am really praying he will make good friends who will encourage him and help him feel that he fits in.
I have been incredibly blessed with a very full life surrounded by people I love. Even when things are so crazy I know that it is all blessings. God is good!!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Family Snapshot
First weeks home
We have been home for almost 2 weeks now. I know some of you may have been wondering if I was ever going to write again. I have not been on the computer much at home so I haven't been keeping up with Facebook or the blog much. Sorry about that!!
Things are going very well. Misha seems to be very happy to be here. He is getting along well with everybody at home and every where we go. He and Josh are spending a lot of time together since everybody else works. Josh is brushing up on his Russian since Misha doesn't speak much English and the two of them are home a lot by themselves. Russian can be easily spoken at home during the day with no translation necessary. Misha is eating well, sleeping well most nights and seems to be settling in very well all the way around. He is learning to speak a few words here and there. I left a long list of words on his desk last night for him to start working on today. School starts here on the 7th of August, so he has about 1 month to learn as much as I can teach him to help him with communicating at school. Misha has made friends with some of the other children we know who have been adopted from Ukraine. He and Kristina seem to be getting along very well. She will be at the same school he will be attending so it will be very good for both of them to have built a friendship before school starts. Misha joined the boys in his class for Sunday school yesterday. It was the first time I have left him with a group with whom he can't communicate. He said he fell asleep because he couldn't understand anything and was just sitting there. Hopefully he will start picking up the language soon enough that won't be a problem for long. We signed him up for soccer over the weekend. He will start practices on the 13th of August and games will start in September. He seems to be excited about getting to play soccer on a team.
All of the family was able to get together for one evening. We had a friend of ours meet us at the lake near our house and take a quick snapshot of the entire family after work. Hopefully we will be able to get some really nice pictures made some time in the not too distant future, but for now the quick snapshot will have to suffice.
Things are going very well. Misha seems to be very happy to be here. He is getting along well with everybody at home and every where we go. He and Josh are spending a lot of time together since everybody else works. Josh is brushing up on his Russian since Misha doesn't speak much English and the two of them are home a lot by themselves. Russian can be easily spoken at home during the day with no translation necessary. Misha is eating well, sleeping well most nights and seems to be settling in very well all the way around. He is learning to speak a few words here and there. I left a long list of words on his desk last night for him to start working on today. School starts here on the 7th of August, so he has about 1 month to learn as much as I can teach him to help him with communicating at school. Misha has made friends with some of the other children we know who have been adopted from Ukraine. He and Kristina seem to be getting along very well. She will be at the same school he will be attending so it will be very good for both of them to have built a friendship before school starts. Misha joined the boys in his class for Sunday school yesterday. It was the first time I have left him with a group with whom he can't communicate. He said he fell asleep because he couldn't understand anything and was just sitting there. Hopefully he will start picking up the language soon enough that won't be a problem for long. We signed him up for soccer over the weekend. He will start practices on the 13th of August and games will start in September. He seems to be excited about getting to play soccer on a team.
All of the family was able to get together for one evening. We had a friend of ours meet us at the lake near our house and take a quick snapshot of the entire family after work. Hopefully we will be able to get some really nice pictures made some time in the not too distant future, but for now the quick snapshot will have to suffice.
When I look at this snapshot I see some wonderful loving children. I have been so blessed with a great family!!! We are not perfect and have our rough days on occasion, but we fit together as God has put us together. God has been so good to all of us.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
We are home
We finally arrived home last night. We were so happy to see everybody who came to the airport. This photo is with four of my children and Mark's girlfriend Deana. The trip was long and the day was exhausting. Misha was sick to his stomach by the time we were half way to Houston, so he wasn't eating or drinking anything from that point on. He was feeling better today though. I think Misha really liked his room and was excited about everything at the house (especially the X-Box he played with Josh a lot today). He said he slept well in his bed last night.
We were very sleepy when we arrived at the airport and are both still very tired today. It is 7:00 pm here right now and Misha has just gone to bed. I can't go to bed because I have to go pick Vernon up at the airport at 11:30 pm tonight. He will get to meet Misha tomorrow morning. Anthony will come home for a couple of days on Monday after he takes his final exam. Maybe one day soon we will be able to get the entire family together for a family photo.
Thanks for following along with us on this journey.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Going Home!!
Misha and I will be flying home tomorrow. We are both so excited!!! Misha is very unhappy at having to get out of bed at 2:45 am in the morning. I am not particularly fond of getting up at that hour either, but it is worth it to go home. So, at 5:45 pm tonight central time we will be getting up to begin our journey to travel home. Our expected travel time is about 23 hours, plus we have to be at the airport a while before our flight. We will definitely be ready to be home when we get there.
It is absolutely amazing how God has shown His Glory through this process. Those of you local to me will get to hear more of the story than has been posted on the blog, more details about how the hand of God was so visible throughout the entire process of being here and adopting Misha into our family. God loves orphans and He loves families. It is God's will that families welcome orphans into their home and provide them with a loving environment and a stronger future than they have in an orphan system. Not everybody can or should adopt, but everybody can help children in need. You don't even have to go to another country if God is calling you to help children in your own local area. There are orphans in every country on this planet who need loving families to provide for them and teach them all the things that parents normally teach their children. They need the love of Jesus to help them learn to be a Godly man or woman, and to help them deal with their past hurts that still cause them to suffer each day. I am so blessed to be chosen by God to serve him by opening my heart and my home to a child with no parents. If you have any questions about this process that I can answer for you I will be more than happy to do so.
Thank you for the support and encouragement you have given me through this entire process. See you soon!!!
It is absolutely amazing how God has shown His Glory through this process. Those of you local to me will get to hear more of the story than has been posted on the blog, more details about how the hand of God was so visible throughout the entire process of being here and adopting Misha into our family. God loves orphans and He loves families. It is God's will that families welcome orphans into their home and provide them with a loving environment and a stronger future than they have in an orphan system. Not everybody can or should adopt, but everybody can help children in need. You don't even have to go to another country if God is calling you to help children in your own local area. There are orphans in every country on this planet who need loving families to provide for them and teach them all the things that parents normally teach their children. They need the love of Jesus to help them learn to be a Godly man or woman, and to help them deal with their past hurts that still cause them to suffer each day. I am so blessed to be chosen by God to serve him by opening my heart and my home to a child with no parents. If you have any questions about this process that I can answer for you I will be more than happy to do so.
Thank you for the support and encouragement you have given me through this entire process. See you soon!!!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
We have a VISA!!!!
The documents we needed arrived this afternoon. Vanya picked them up and brought them to me then we went to the embassy. The consular was very happy to see that we had gotten all of the documents today, but not nearly as happy as I was to hear her say that we had everything we needed for the Visa. It only took a few minutes for me to sign in a couple of places and then we waited for the Visa to be printed. It is a great feeling to finally have it all done.
My travel agent was able to schedule us some reasonable tickets for Tuesday. The weekend tickets were simply too expensive. The increase in price to switch to the weekend would have been between $3,000 and $5,000. I just can't justify adding that much expense to the tickets just to come home on the weekend instead of Tuesday.
Misha was very excited to have the Visa in his passport today. I was so excited that everything was in order that I almost cried tears of joy so Misha thought I was upset because we weren't getting the Visa. I had to explain to him that yes, we were getting the Visa today and we will be going home on Tuesday. He was very relieved.
Thank you for all of your prayers. I know that your prayers were heard and were answered. Even in the delays God comforts and blesses those who turn to him. He has blessed me more than I could ever deserve. I will be looking forward to seeing the blessings he gave me in friends and family when I get home Tuesday night. See you soon.
My travel agent was able to schedule us some reasonable tickets for Tuesday. The weekend tickets were simply too expensive. The increase in price to switch to the weekend would have been between $3,000 and $5,000. I just can't justify adding that much expense to the tickets just to come home on the weekend instead of Tuesday.
Misha was very excited to have the Visa in his passport today. I was so excited that everything was in order that I almost cried tears of joy so Misha thought I was upset because we weren't getting the Visa. I had to explain to him that yes, we were getting the Visa today and we will be going home on Tuesday. He was very relieved.
Thank you for all of your prayers. I know that your prayers were heard and were answered. Even in the delays God comforts and blesses those who turn to him. He has blessed me more than I could ever deserve. I will be looking forward to seeing the blessings he gave me in friends and family when I get home Tuesday night. See you soon.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Prayers answered
I spoke with UPS here in Kiev a few minutes ago. They said the package will arrive tomorrow and we can call to schedule a pick up of the package after 1 pm. If we can go pick it up just after that we could go to the embassy to get the visa tomorrow afternoon. I will keep Friday open here just to be on the safe side. If tickets are available we may be able to fly home over the weekend. Please keep praying.
No Visa
We went to the embassy yesterday and they said they needed more documents originally signed by Vernon and notarized. They told me to have them shipped overnight and they should be here before my interview appointment today. However, you cannot ship documents here overnight and there is no possible way to get documents here in the time frame in which they wanted them. Vernon completed the documents and scanned them in but that is not acceptable to the embassy. Therefore, we have been unsuccessful at obtaining a visa from the American Embassy for Misha to travel to the US. We are going to have to wait until those documents arrive here at the apartment and then go to the embassy to try again to get the visa. At this point, I have no idea for certain when we will be coming home. It will definitely not be tomorrow.
Please pray that the documents will arrive very soon and we can get this all completed and get home. Vernon and I have decided to ask my travel agent to book our tickets to fly home next Thursday, the 28th, in hopes that we will not run out of time again and have to extend the tickets while waiting for the documents to arrive. I know God has plans and that His timing is perfect. I am not certain of what purpose these delays serve, but I pray that God's will is fulfilled.
Be blessed.
Please pray that the documents will arrive very soon and we can get this all completed and get home. Vernon and I have decided to ask my travel agent to book our tickets to fly home next Thursday, the 28th, in hopes that we will not run out of time again and have to extend the tickets while waiting for the documents to arrive. I know God has plans and that His timing is perfect. I am not certain of what purpose these delays serve, but I pray that God's will is fulfilled.
Be blessed.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
We are in Kiev
Leaving Mariupol on Friday we ran into some bad storms in the Donetsk area. It took us a while to get out of the station there and we made several stops along the way. It is a 17-hour train ride from Mariupol to Kiev. We are glad to have that part of the trip behind us and have settled in here in Kiev. The apartment we are staying in is fantastic!!! There is a good grocery store within walking distance. Tonight we had pizza from a place around the corner that was really good. All-in-all things are going very well now.
Vanya has not yet been able to get the passport. He is supposed to get it tomorrow and travel here to Kiev so we can finish our process on Tuesday and Wednesday. He has to ride on the same train we rode on to get here. We will then be ready to fly home on Thursday. I really can't wait to get home. I miss my family so much and I can't wait to get home to see them.
I hope everybody is having a great Father's Day. I have been blessed with the man God gave me to share my life and my children with. He is a great husband and a great father. I only wish I were there to tell him that in person on Father's Day. Oh well.... We will have to celebrate all of our holidays we have missed when everybody gets home.
Be blessed.
Vanya has not yet been able to get the passport. He is supposed to get it tomorrow and travel here to Kiev so we can finish our process on Tuesday and Wednesday. He has to ride on the same train we rode on to get here. We will then be ready to fly home on Thursday. I really can't wait to get home. I miss my family so much and I can't wait to get home to see them.
I hope everybody is having a great Father's Day. I have been blessed with the man God gave me to share my life and my children with. He is a great husband and a great father. I only wish I were there to tell him that in person on Father's Day. Oh well.... We will have to celebrate all of our holidays we have missed when everybody gets home.
Be blessed.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
We have a place to stay in Kiev!!!
Just a short addition to my previous post, I just got off the phone with a guy who has a place we can stay in Kiev!!! We will be going to Kiev tomorrow if Vanya can get tickets for us.
We have airline tickets!!!
I checked Misha out of the orphanage for the last time yesterday. It is wonderful to now have complete custody of him. He is very happy to be here and is very ready to travel to his new home. He keeps asking me "When will we go to Kiev??" I can only keep telling him I do not know. We can't travel to Kiev until we have a place to stay. The apartments and hotels in Kiev are either booked with Euro 2012 fans or ridiculously expensive. We have been trying to contact a couple of individuals who have offered to let us stay with them but have not yet been able to. I hope one of those will work out so we will have a nice place to stay.
Today I received confirmation of our airline tickets having been booked. We will be returning home on the 21st of June. The agent was having a lot of problems getting my ticket booked because of all of the chaos of my trip here. Apparently something was done in the system that made it difficult to make the necessary changes to my tickets. I can only praise Jesus for my travel agent who has worked so hard to get all of this straightened out for me and to get me some tickets home. For anybody local to my area who will be making this trip soon, Travel Planners does a fantastic job of helping out with tickets. Anita booked my original tickets, booked my ticket from Odessa to Kiev, booked our return tickets all with short notice. If you need her information let me know and I will be happy to refer you to her.
All we have left in the process now is picking up Misha's passport, getting to Kiev to have the medical exam and get the visa issued, and then flying home. I am so anxious to get all of this done and get home to the rest of my family and to begin finding our new normal with Misha in the family now. He seems just as anxious, if not more anxious, as I am to get home. He makes my heart smile!!
Today I received confirmation of our airline tickets having been booked. We will be returning home on the 21st of June. The agent was having a lot of problems getting my ticket booked because of all of the chaos of my trip here. Apparently something was done in the system that made it difficult to make the necessary changes to my tickets. I can only praise Jesus for my travel agent who has worked so hard to get all of this straightened out for me and to get me some tickets home. For anybody local to my area who will be making this trip soon, Travel Planners does a fantastic job of helping out with tickets. Anita booked my original tickets, booked my ticket from Odessa to Kiev, booked our return tickets all with short notice. If you need her information let me know and I will be happy to refer you to her.
All we have left in the process now is picking up Misha's passport, getting to Kiev to have the medical exam and get the visa issued, and then flying home. I am so anxious to get all of this done and get home to the rest of my family and to begin finding our new normal with Misha in the family now. He seems just as anxious, if not more anxious, as I am to get home. He makes my heart smile!!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Success today
We were able to complete some business at the bank here in Mariupol and then drive to Donetsk to apply for Misha's passport today. I consider this a good day since we got that done. We will go to the orphanage tomorrow to work on getting Misha checked out for the last time. This mom is happy to be checking him out and bringing him to the center with me. The passport will not be ready until Friday or Monday. That means we could be as late as Wednesday trying to finish up the visa.
We are now working on trying to get airline tickets home for next Thursday. I am still waiting for my travel agent to email me to let me know if something is available for that day. We are also trying to figure out where to stay in Kiev and when train tickets will be available to travel to Kiev. This is our next big hurdle. I know lots of people are enjoying the Euro 2012 competition, but I am not enjoying all of the wrenches it is throwing into our adoption process. Traffic is jammed, places to stay are unavailable or expensive, and train tickets are scarce. I don't know about airline tickets for sure, but I am guessing those are scarce too. Misha and I are both very ready to go home, so we are not enjoying all of these hurdles caused by the games. I would appreciate it if, when you are watching and enjoying the games, you could say a prayer for us as we are trying to maneuver our way through the end of our process here.
I will post again when I have more information to share.
We are now working on trying to get airline tickets home for next Thursday. I am still waiting for my travel agent to email me to let me know if something is available for that day. We are also trying to figure out where to stay in Kiev and when train tickets will be available to travel to Kiev. This is our next big hurdle. I know lots of people are enjoying the Euro 2012 competition, but I am not enjoying all of the wrenches it is throwing into our adoption process. Traffic is jammed, places to stay are unavailable or expensive, and train tickets are scarce. I don't know about airline tickets for sure, but I am guessing those are scarce too. Misha and I are both very ready to go home, so we are not enjoying all of these hurdles caused by the games. I would appreciate it if, when you are watching and enjoying the games, you could say a prayer for us as we are trying to maneuver our way through the end of our process here.
I will post again when I have more information to share.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Plans have changed!!
We did get the court decree and an updated birth certificate today. There was one little glitch in the court decree that was causing some confusion so the lady at the vital records department in Misha's city of birth did not want to issue the birth certificate like we wanted it. I stood in the hallway and intently prayed until Vanya came out saying that she was going to give us a birth certificate. I was so excited that we were going to be able to get the birth certificate done. It was a very long drive and I certainly did not want to have to go to court again and then drive back to that city a second time. Really praising Jesus for that tonight!!
I found out today that this region no longer does one-day passports, which we were counting on. So, we have to wait the standard 3-business day minimum to get the passport. That means there is no possible way for us to fly home this weekend. If everything is in order for us to successfully apply for the passport tomorrow we should be able to pick it up on Friday. We will then have to go to Kiev for the medical exam and apply for the visa. The embassy in Kiev is only open during standard business hours so we may not be able to do that until Monday and picking up the visa on Tuesday. So, it looks like we may not be able to fly home until Wednesday or Thursday of next week. :( :( :( We really are ready to go home. Please understand that all of this is variable at this point and can change at the drop of a hat. I will keep you posted as we proceed.
The director of the orphanage will not be available tomorrow so we cannot officially check Misha out of the orphanage until the next day. We will need to at least temporarily check him out long enough tomorrow to go apply for the passport though. Please pray that it will not be a problem for us to check him out temporarily in order to do this.
Please pray that we will be able to apply for the passport tomorrow. Also, please pray that everything else will fall into place so we can begin our journey home.
Thank you so much for your love and support. Most importantly, thank you interceding on our behalf.
I found out today that this region no longer does one-day passports, which we were counting on. So, we have to wait the standard 3-business day minimum to get the passport. That means there is no possible way for us to fly home this weekend. If everything is in order for us to successfully apply for the passport tomorrow we should be able to pick it up on Friday. We will then have to go to Kiev for the medical exam and apply for the visa. The embassy in Kiev is only open during standard business hours so we may not be able to do that until Monday and picking up the visa on Tuesday. So, it looks like we may not be able to fly home until Wednesday or Thursday of next week. :( :( :( We really are ready to go home. Please understand that all of this is variable at this point and can change at the drop of a hat. I will keep you posted as we proceed.
The director of the orphanage will not be available tomorrow so we cannot officially check Misha out of the orphanage until the next day. We will need to at least temporarily check him out long enough tomorrow to go apply for the passport though. Please pray that it will not be a problem for us to check him out temporarily in order to do this.
Please pray that we will be able to apply for the passport tomorrow. Also, please pray that everything else will fall into place so we can begin our journey home.
Thank you so much for your love and support. Most importantly, thank you interceding on our behalf.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Next week should be interesting!!
This weekend will be Misha's 15th birthday. We are having a party for him on Saturday here at the center where I am staying. On Sunday we are giving him a going away party with his group at the orphanage. He should have a great weekend to remember for his last weekend as a resident of Ukraine!!
Vanya told me today that our court decree will be ready to pick up on Monday morning. We are hoping to be able to go from there to the city where Misha was born to get his birth certificate. I am thinking we should be able to check Misha out of the orphanage on Monday after we get the court decree. If we can get the birth certificate done on Monday we should be able to get his passport on Tuesday and go to Kiev on the overnight train that night. We will spend Wednesday getting his medical and applying for his visa. We should be able to pick up his visa on Thursday and hopefully fly home on Friday. It would be wonderful for Misha to be home to to spend Father's Day with his Dad!!
Prayer requests:
1. Please pray that we can get the birth certificate on Monday. The birth certificate office is not supposed to work on birth certificates that day but since the lady will be in the office we are hoping she will do it for us. The whole rest of our plans hinge on getting the birth certificate done that day.
2. Please pray that we will successfully get the one day passport completed early enough on Tuesday to catch the train to Kiev on Tuesday night. It leaves Donetsk at 3:00 in the afternoon.
3. Please pray that we will be able to get everything done for the medical and at the embassy in order to be able to fly on Friday.
4. Please pray that there will be two tickets available on the same planes for us to go home on Friday. Some people have to stay in Kiev longer than necessary for the adoption because they can't get tickets to America.
5. Please pray that Misha will be able to take it all in stride. This will be his first trip like this.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and your support. I can't wait to get home and those of you who are local get to meet Misha!!! I will keep you posted as we continue through our last days here, if I have access to internet and can do so.
Vanya told me today that our court decree will be ready to pick up on Monday morning. We are hoping to be able to go from there to the city where Misha was born to get his birth certificate. I am thinking we should be able to check Misha out of the orphanage on Monday after we get the court decree. If we can get the birth certificate done on Monday we should be able to get his passport on Tuesday and go to Kiev on the overnight train that night. We will spend Wednesday getting his medical and applying for his visa. We should be able to pick up his visa on Thursday and hopefully fly home on Friday. It would be wonderful for Misha to be home to to spend Father's Day with his Dad!!
Prayer requests:
1. Please pray that we can get the birth certificate on Monday. The birth certificate office is not supposed to work on birth certificates that day but since the lady will be in the office we are hoping she will do it for us. The whole rest of our plans hinge on getting the birth certificate done that day.
2. Please pray that we will successfully get the one day passport completed early enough on Tuesday to catch the train to Kiev on Tuesday night. It leaves Donetsk at 3:00 in the afternoon.
3. Please pray that we will be able to get everything done for the medical and at the embassy in order to be able to fly on Friday.
4. Please pray that there will be two tickets available on the same planes for us to go home on Friday. Some people have to stay in Kiev longer than necessary for the adoption because they can't get tickets to America.
5. Please pray that Misha will be able to take it all in stride. This will be his first trip like this.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and your support. I can't wait to get home and those of you who are local get to meet Misha!!! I will keep you posted as we continue through our last days here, if I have access to internet and can do so.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Having a great time
Things are going very well here. I still go visit Misha at the orphanage during the week and he spends the weekends at the center. Misha is working on learning English each day that he is with me at the center. He even asks to work on English before having to be told. It is so sweet to see him trying so hard too. He gets frustrated sometimes when the Rosetta Stone isn't understanding what he is saying but he just keeps on trying. He told a girl here who speaks English that he is remembering what he learns and he definitely wants me to teach him more. He is a very sweet boy.
Yesterday we went bowling. It was so much fun. There were several kids from the center, a couple of the ladies who work with the kids, one of the lady's daughter-in-law and granddaughter, and myself. We had a great time. I think the kids really enjoyed the outing. There was lots of applause and encouragement being passed around. They weren't as competitive as most of the groups I have been bowling with, which made it so much more fun.
I went shopping today with Misha and some other kids from the center. Misha has a birthday coming up next weekend and I needed to buy him a birthday present. He was very excited to get to go shopping and choose his gifts. He was very appreciative and asked the girl who was translating for us to tell me that he appreciated it very, very, very much!!! It was so sweet.
The weather was beautiful this morning but it came a rain storm this afternoon. I ended up with a headache from the weather by evening. It is now just past midnight so I think I will call it a day!!
Thank you all for your encouraging words, they are a blessing to me.
Yesterday we went bowling. It was so much fun. There were several kids from the center, a couple of the ladies who work with the kids, one of the lady's daughter-in-law and granddaughter, and myself. We had a great time. I think the kids really enjoyed the outing. There was lots of applause and encouragement being passed around. They weren't as competitive as most of the groups I have been bowling with, which made it so much more fun.
I went shopping today with Misha and some other kids from the center. Misha has a birthday coming up next weekend and I needed to buy him a birthday present. He was very excited to get to go shopping and choose his gifts. He was very appreciative and asked the girl who was translating for us to tell me that he appreciated it very, very, very much!!! It was so sweet.
The weather was beautiful this morning but it came a rain storm this afternoon. I ended up with a headache from the weather by evening. It is now just past midnight so I think I will call it a day!!
Thank you all for your encouraging words, they are a blessing to me.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Introducing.....
Michael Christian Tygart (Misha - pronounced Meesha- for short) is the newest member of our family!!! His Ukrainian name is translated to Michael, so it will be the same name his birth mother gave him. We gave him his middle and, of course, his last name.
Court lasted only about 10 minutes as the judge was late and in a hurry to get through her cases. She had only a few questions, the social workers all agreed that adoption was what Misha wanted and what was best for him. The court had no objections so it was all done in just a matter of minutes. My translator's short version was " Do you....? Do you....? OK, Done."
Now we are on our 10-day wait. That is 10 business days to wait when no adoption business can be done. The purpose of this wait is to give an orphan's Ukrainian family a chance to step up and oppose the adoption. We know that Misha does not have any family left who can contest the adoption, but the laws are the laws. After the waiting period has passed we will have a mad dash to get everything done so we can go home. It is looking like we will either be home the end of the week beginning June 10th or the first part of the week of June 17th.
I now get to visit with Misha each day again. We are hoping he will be able to visit the center where I am staying some on the weekends, which will give me more time to have some fun and continue to strengthen our relationship. The kids from the center where I am staying will be going bowling on Friday and I think it would be wonderful if Misha could come over and we could go bowling with them.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Court is Tomorrow
I found out today that Vanya was able to get the document we needed from the agency sent to him. We will have court at 10:0 am tomorrow morning, which is 2:00 am at home. I am getting very excited to have this next step done. If the court approves the adoption tomorrow we begin our 10 day wait. During that 10 days we will just be hanging out because we won't have the court decree to allow us to conduct any adoption business.
Our son was able to spend some time here at the center where I am staying. He came here on Friday after the Last Bell ceremonies and stayed until Sunday afternoon. We enjoyed our visit very much. We worked on a puzzle for a little bit and then played games. I had him sign in to Rosetta Stone for the first time. He caught on pretty quickly to how it all worked. he has a few words that he couldn't say well enough to suit the system but I am certain he will get the hang of it once he has time to work at it more and hear English spoken more often. We also Skyped with the family at home. It is kind of hard to Skype since the speakers on my laptop are not working right, but we managed to let him meet his dad and a couple of his brothers.
We went to the movies on Saturday afternoon with the kids from the center. Men in Black 3 in 3D is funny even if I couldn't understand the words. I will have to see it in English after I get home though so I can get the full humor of the movie. The people in the theater were laughing sometimes when it was just spoken words so I am certain that I missed a lot. The 3D was interesting though.
If you think about us at or before 10:00 am (2:00 at home) tomorrow morning please say a prayer that all will go well with court. Thank you so much.
Our son was able to spend some time here at the center where I am staying. He came here on Friday after the Last Bell ceremonies and stayed until Sunday afternoon. We enjoyed our visit very much. We worked on a puzzle for a little bit and then played games. I had him sign in to Rosetta Stone for the first time. He caught on pretty quickly to how it all worked. he has a few words that he couldn't say well enough to suit the system but I am certain he will get the hang of it once he has time to work at it more and hear English spoken more often. We also Skyped with the family at home. It is kind of hard to Skype since the speakers on my laptop are not working right, but we managed to let him meet his dad and a couple of his brothers.
We went to the movies on Saturday afternoon with the kids from the center. Men in Black 3 in 3D is funny even if I couldn't understand the words. I will have to see it in English after I get home though so I can get the full humor of the movie. The people in the theater were laughing sometimes when it was just spoken words so I am certain that I missed a lot. The 3D was interesting though.
If you think about us at or before 10:00 am (2:00 at home) tomorrow morning please say a prayer that all will go well with court. Thank you so much.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Just hanging out
I have been having some trouble with my computer not charging right so I haven't been able to log in very much. I think I now have that problem fixed so I should be able to do a better job of keeping everything up to date.
I visit with our new son each afternoon from 2:30 until 4:30 pm. He gets out of class at 2:30 Monday through Saturday and has to go do his homework at 4:30. We are communicating via an electronic translator. For those of you who will be adopting soon I would seriously recommend that you get a translator to bring with you. It has enabled us to have conversations that we could not have had otherwise. However, I must warn you, the translator is only as good as the spelling of the user. There are times when I can see that he is trying to figure out a word and it doesn't translate because he couldn't figure out how to spell it correctly. Then the charades begin. The charades are so amusing. He tries so hard to get me to understand something by using his hands and facial expressions, even when facial expressions and hand motions do not fit the topic of discussion at all.
This Friday, May 25, will be the last day of school here. I am not certain what that will mean for our daily visits. We are expecting to have court Monday or Tuesday, so hopefully they will not send him away to summer camp. But, I really don't think they are going to keep the orphanage open for just one student. I don't know what next week will bring. One day at a time!!!!
I think I have been able to lose a few pounds since I have been here. I put on a pair of jeans this morning that fit looser than the last time I put them on. I am walking to the orphanage every day, 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back. I am eating here at the center where I am staying, homemade Ukrainian style cooking. It is not as fattening as the foods I typically eat at home. I am drinking more fruit juice and less carbonated beverages, which helps a lot too. But I sure do miss my ice cold Mountain Dew. :-)
I will keep you updated when I know when our court date has been set.
I visit with our new son each afternoon from 2:30 until 4:30 pm. He gets out of class at 2:30 Monday through Saturday and has to go do his homework at 4:30. We are communicating via an electronic translator. For those of you who will be adopting soon I would seriously recommend that you get a translator to bring with you. It has enabled us to have conversations that we could not have had otherwise. However, I must warn you, the translator is only as good as the spelling of the user. There are times when I can see that he is trying to figure out a word and it doesn't translate because he couldn't figure out how to spell it correctly. Then the charades begin. The charades are so amusing. He tries so hard to get me to understand something by using his hands and facial expressions, even when facial expressions and hand motions do not fit the topic of discussion at all.
This Friday, May 25, will be the last day of school here. I am not certain what that will mean for our daily visits. We are expecting to have court Monday or Tuesday, so hopefully they will not send him away to summer camp. But, I really don't think they are going to keep the orphanage open for just one student. I don't know what next week will bring. One day at a time!!!!
I think I have been able to lose a few pounds since I have been here. I put on a pair of jeans this morning that fit looser than the last time I put them on. I am walking to the orphanage every day, 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back. I am eating here at the center where I am staying, homemade Ukrainian style cooking. It is not as fattening as the foods I typically eat at home. I am drinking more fruit juice and less carbonated beverages, which helps a lot too. But I sure do miss my ice cold Mountain Dew. :-)
I will keep you updated when I know when our court date has been set.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
He said YES to a family
I have made it to Mariupol, Ukraine. It is a city on the southeastern side of Ukraine. It is an industrial city that is not as large as Odessa. I am staying at a wonderful place with wonderful people that is within walking distance to the orphanage. I will be walking to visit with our son each afternoon when he gets out of classes.
Yesterday was our first meeting and he was excited from the very first moment. He desperately wants a family and has already signed his statement that he wants to be adopted into our family. He is very sweet. After the very first meeting he now smiles the biggest smile when he sees me and he gives great big hugs. He is so happy. I am so happy with him as well. He has already stolen my heart and I am certain he will fit very well into our family. He told me today that he will be waiting for me each day to get there for our daily visit. He also told me that he is not the least bit afraid of going to America to begin his new life.
Things move quicker in this part of Ukraine. We arrived yesterday and by the end of today we have already filed papers with the court. As soon as they have the agency's signed approval we can have the court hearing. The court hearing should be May 28th or 29th. I am hoping it will be on the 28th since that is our wedding anniversary (23 years of marriage this year). After court is a mandatory 10 business day waiting period. When that is over we will have to travel to his birth city to get his birth certificate, get his passport here in Mariupol, go to Kiev to get his medical exam and visa, then process him out with immigration. So, still lots to do but we are making good progress.
Yesterday was our first meeting and he was excited from the very first moment. He desperately wants a family and has already signed his statement that he wants to be adopted into our family. He is very sweet. After the very first meeting he now smiles the biggest smile when he sees me and he gives great big hugs. He is so happy. I am so happy with him as well. He has already stolen my heart and I am certain he will fit very well into our family. He told me today that he will be waiting for me each day to get there for our daily visit. He also told me that he is not the least bit afraid of going to America to begin his new life.
Things move quicker in this part of Ukraine. We arrived yesterday and by the end of today we have already filed papers with the court. As soon as they have the agency's signed approval we can have the court hearing. The court hearing should be May 28th or 29th. I am hoping it will be on the 28th since that is our wedding anniversary (23 years of marriage this year). After court is a mandatory 10 business day waiting period. When that is over we will have to travel to his birth city to get his birth certificate, get his passport here in Mariupol, go to Kiev to get his medical exam and visa, then process him out with immigration. So, still lots to do but we are making good progress.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Traveling
We have the referral and we have train tickets!! Next time I am on it will be from a different part of Ukraine!! I hope to meet the boy we have a referral for tomorrow. Please be praying that we will know for sure that we are meant to be family and that travels will go well.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Second Referral
We had our appointment for the second referral lat this afternoon. We have requested a chance to visit with a boy who is 14, he will be 15 next month. He lives in a part of Ukraine I have never been to before, so I am excited about getting to see more of this beautiful country.
If all goes well, we should be able to pick up our referral papers tomorrow afternoon and ride the overnight train tomorrow night. When we went by the ticket office after our appointment today they did not have any tickets available on tomorrow night's train. Please pray for tickets so we can go to the region where the boy is located and that we will be able to visit with him on Wednesday.
We have been told by someone close to him that he definitely wants a family and that he would love a chance to join our family in America. Please pray that God's will is done, and if it is God's will that this is for certain the boy we are here to adopt that he will know it in his heart and I will know he is my son as soon as we meet.
Thank you so much for your support, encouragement, and prayers.
If all goes well, we should be able to pick up our referral papers tomorrow afternoon and ride the overnight train tomorrow night. When we went by the ticket office after our appointment today they did not have any tickets available on tomorrow night's train. Please pray for tickets so we can go to the region where the boy is located and that we will be able to visit with him on Wednesday.
We have been told by someone close to him that he definitely wants a family and that he would love a chance to join our family in America. Please pray that God's will is done, and if it is God's will that this is for certain the boy we are here to adopt that he will know it in his heart and I will know he is my son as soon as we meet.
Thank you so much for your support, encouragement, and prayers.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Happy Mother's Day!!
I have been so incredibly blessed as a mom. I know all of you moms out there share the same sentiment about your kids. I hope you all celebrated your family and remembered some of the blessings you have experienced. This is the first Mother's Day I have celebrated without my kids. It is strange being on the other side of the world from them and hearing Happy Mother's Day from my kids on the phone. I know it will all be worth it when our family welcomes a new member though. I am excited and anxiously waiting to meet my new son or daughter.
I arrived in Kiev today. My appointment for the second referral is late tomorrow afternoon. I know that God has a plan and He knows who I should take as a referral. I appreciate any prayers you can offer up for me to be able to discern God's will and choose for a referral the child He has hand-picked to join our family. God is good and I believe He will tell me, I just pray that I will hear what He is telling me.
It is late now and I am tired, so I am keeping this short. May God bless you all.
I arrived in Kiev today. My appointment for the second referral is late tomorrow afternoon. I know that God has a plan and He knows who I should take as a referral. I appreciate any prayers you can offer up for me to be able to discern God's will and choose for a referral the child He has hand-picked to join our family. God is good and I believe He will tell me, I just pray that I will hear what He is telling me.
It is late now and I am tired, so I am keeping this short. May God bless you all.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Appointment for a new referral
I just found out today that we have an appointment in Kiev at the agency for adoptions on Monday. I will be traveling to Kiev on the overnight train Sunday night. We will have the appointment on Monday, pick up our referral papers on Tuesday and go where the referral takes us at the earliest possible time.
We have had several friends send us information about kids they know who want to be adopted into families. We are still looking at the information provided and the photos of the kids. We will speak with the agency when we get there to see which of these children they will allow us to get a referral for. Please continue to pray for guidance and clarity from the Lord so that I will know that I am seeking a referral for the child God has selected for our family. Also pray for favor and safety as we travel to the appointment and to the orphanage where the referral will be.
I would like to ask that you pray for the child as well. He or she will have to make a huge decision. As I have mentioned on this blog before, this decision is not easy for some of these kids. They want a family who will love and support them forever, but the uncertainty of traveling to the other side of the world to live with strangers, learn a new language and new culture is sometimes so overwhelming that they choose not to go. Please pray for certainty in our new child's heart that our family is the right forever family.
We have had several friends send us information about kids they know who want to be adopted into families. We are still looking at the information provided and the photos of the kids. We will speak with the agency when we get there to see which of these children they will allow us to get a referral for. Please continue to pray for guidance and clarity from the Lord so that I will know that I am seeking a referral for the child God has selected for our family. Also pray for favor and safety as we travel to the appointment and to the orphanage where the referral will be.
I would like to ask that you pray for the child as well. He or she will have to make a huge decision. As I have mentioned on this blog before, this decision is not easy for some of these kids. They want a family who will love and support them forever, but the uncertainty of traveling to the other side of the world to live with strangers, learn a new language and new culture is sometimes so overwhelming that they choose not to go. Please pray for certainty in our new child's heart that our family is the right forever family.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Just thinking
I was praying and searching for guidance in the word during the last couple of nights. I came across Psalm 16:11 "You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." That spoke to my heart and I have been meditating on it. I have actually left my bible open to that page for the last two days and have reviewed that verse each time I picked up my bible. That is one of the verses on the study guide that was handed out in church today. God is good!! He knows what I need. I have also been thinking of the verses I stood on for our first adoption; Jeremiah 29:11-13 "11For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." Those verses always bring me comfort. Lots of people remember verse 11 and know that God has good plans for us all. But I want to remember all of them. The seeking and finding part actually needs to come before the plans for welfare and good come to fruition.
People have been asking what my specific prayer needs are so I will share them here:
1. Pray that the child God has specifically handpicked to be placed in our family will be presented to me as a referral. I could bring so many of these kids home with me, but it is only with God's intervention that it will work as He intends for a new member to fit within our family.
2. Pray for God's favor as we proceed through this process. The bureaucracy in adoption is intense. We got caught up in some bureaucracy with our last adoption that delayed our trip home by a couple of weeks. Since we are already two weeks in and I still don't have a successful referral, I really need for the rest of the process to move smoothly.
3. Pray for the child that God has for us. Pray that the child will know in his or her heart that I am the mother for him or her and that our family is where he or she belongs.
4. Pray for my family as they are finishing remodeling the room and getting it ready for our new family member to make their own.
5. Pray for finances. I brought what I thought would be enough money for a normal process, but if this hangs on and I am delayed I don't know how much it will increase my expenses. I am good on money right now so I am not sweating it too much. But that is a concern I will have to consider as we continue through this process. The God we serve can feed five thousand men and their families with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish with baskets of leftovers, He can stretch the money I have to make it through this adoption.
People have been asking what my specific prayer needs are so I will share them here:
1. Pray that the child God has specifically handpicked to be placed in our family will be presented to me as a referral. I could bring so many of these kids home with me, but it is only with God's intervention that it will work as He intends for a new member to fit within our family.
2. Pray for God's favor as we proceed through this process. The bureaucracy in adoption is intense. We got caught up in some bureaucracy with our last adoption that delayed our trip home by a couple of weeks. Since we are already two weeks in and I still don't have a successful referral, I really need for the rest of the process to move smoothly.
3. Pray for the child that God has for us. Pray that the child will know in his or her heart that I am the mother for him or her and that our family is where he or she belongs.
4. Pray for my family as they are finishing remodeling the room and getting it ready for our new family member to make their own.
5. Pray for finances. I brought what I thought would be enough money for a normal process, but if this hangs on and I am delayed I don't know how much it will increase my expenses. I am good on money right now so I am not sweating it too much. But that is a concern I will have to consider as we continue through this process. The God we serve can feed five thousand men and their families with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish with baskets of leftovers, He can stretch the money I have to make it through this adoption.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Decision Day
Our daughter made her decision final today. It is with a very sad heart I must say she decided not to be adopted into our family. She is now aged out of possibility for an American family to adopt her. She will most likely be leaving the orphanage at the end of the school year to a very uncertain future. However, she has made the decision she believes to be best for her. I respect her for thinking about it and making a choice that children should not be in a position to have to make. My heart is broken but I rely on God for comfort. I still know deep in my heart that God has brought me to Ukraine with the intent of adopting a child who needs and wants a family. I am praying for that "someone" to be revealed to me and that I will know it with clarity in my spirit that it is right and fits in the path that God has called me (us) to.
So, what now? With the help of my translator, of course, I had to write another petition to the agency in charge of all adoptions in Ukraine to request permission to visit another child. That petition will be submitted on Monday. The agency will have to process my petition and give me an appointment to visit another child. My translator will tell me when to go back to Kiev for that appointment for the second referral. I will have to meet that child and see if we get along and wish to move forward in the process. That child will have to make the same decision our daughter made today, to be adopted or not to be adopted.
The maximum number of times I can go to the agency and request a referral for a child is three. I have submitted a petition for my second referral as of today. If the next child I visit says no, then I have only one more chance. I really hope I do not have to go back for a third and final referral. I will be following the path that God lays before me and will seek his counsel on the next child. Please pray with me that the child on the next referral is the child God has determined will be in our family.
Thank you all very much for the emails and comments with words of encouragement. It is easier to travel difficult journeys with someone standing beside you to hold you up when you are at your weakest. I feel the support of my friends and family holding me up from a distance.
So, what now? With the help of my translator, of course, I had to write another petition to the agency in charge of all adoptions in Ukraine to request permission to visit another child. That petition will be submitted on Monday. The agency will have to process my petition and give me an appointment to visit another child. My translator will tell me when to go back to Kiev for that appointment for the second referral. I will have to meet that child and see if we get along and wish to move forward in the process. That child will have to make the same decision our daughter made today, to be adopted or not to be adopted.
The maximum number of times I can go to the agency and request a referral for a child is three. I have submitted a petition for my second referral as of today. If the next child I visit says no, then I have only one more chance. I really hope I do not have to go back for a third and final referral. I will be following the path that God lays before me and will seek his counsel on the next child. Please pray with me that the child on the next referral is the child God has determined will be in our family.
Thank you all very much for the emails and comments with words of encouragement. It is easier to travel difficult journeys with someone standing beside you to hold you up when you are at your weakest. I feel the support of my friends and family holding me up from a distance.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
No decision today
Oh how I wish I could tell you that the meeting was great and she has decided to join our family..... but I can't. I guess there were some unforeseen circumstances that have taken the director from his office today. We will not be able to meet and have our daughter make her make her decision officially and publicly known. I do hope he will be able to be back in the office tomorrow so we can get this taken care of then. Please pray that all will be in order for that to happen.
Thank you so much for your prayers.
Thank you so much for your prayers.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Wonderful Day
It has been an absolutely beautiful day. I slept in a bit this morning. I was up until 1:30 am Odessa time talking to all of my guys so I was really tired when I went to sleep. It is not often I get to sleep until 9 am. I got up and did a few things around the apartment, worked a little, checked in on Facebook and emails. All-in-all a very relaxing morning.
I walked to the orphanage at the prearranged time to visit with our daughter. The weather was a bit on the warm side, but beautiful. Anybody who is planning to come to Ukraine please make sure you bring some walking shoes and hydrate well during the summer. The air here is dryer than in Mississippi.
The visit went very well today. Our daughter seemed more excited this afternoon than I have seen before. She will have to officially make her decision on Thursday. It is very good for her to have a few days to really evaluate her decision. If we were adopting a toddler it would be a matter for the courts to decide if the child's placement with the parents is best for the child. However, we are not adopting a toddler. We are adopting a teenager, a young woman with a mind of her own; her own opinions, strengths, weaknesses, fears, pains, and everything else. It is a big choice for her to make. Can you imagine being 16 and having to agree to move to a foreign country where you don't speak the language and don't know anything about the culture with parents who you don't know but will be making decisions for you? Could you leave all of your friends who have been there with you in the orphanage, the ones who have experienced some of the same pains you have? Could you go to a public high school in a foreign country with all of the drama of teenage high school life going on around you and you don't understand it? I don't know if I could, yet I am here asking her to do that. How I would love to be inside her head hearing her thoughts. How I would love to know her fears so I could help alleviate them and make her feel safe. I know that life will be hard for her but it will be worth the struggles. I know what is waiting for her on the other side of the ocean. But she does not, yet she must choose "yes" or "no" to take me up on the offer of a "forever family". I watched our son struggle through a lot of this when we adopted him. Now I will have to watch our daughter struggle through. It pains my heart to see them have to struggle so hard for something so many people take for granted. God has said in His word that he will not leave us as orphans, that He will come for us. We have a hard time turning it all over to God, the creator of all things in this world. How hard must it be for an orphan to turn it all over to imperfect parents? Please be praying for peace in her heart as she makes this decision on Thursday. She needs the wisdom and comfort of our Heavenly Father guiding her thoughts and her words. I also ask that you pray the same for me and the rest of the adoption process.
Some of the girls in our area who have been adopted from Ukraine are intending to write letters to our daughter to tell her about the things they struggled with. I think that is a very sweet gesture from the girls. I may try to get them to her tomorrow.
Thank you very much. I hope you have a great afternoon and evening.
I walked to the orphanage at the prearranged time to visit with our daughter. The weather was a bit on the warm side, but beautiful. Anybody who is planning to come to Ukraine please make sure you bring some walking shoes and hydrate well during the summer. The air here is dryer than in Mississippi.
The visit went very well today. Our daughter seemed more excited this afternoon than I have seen before. She will have to officially make her decision on Thursday. It is very good for her to have a few days to really evaluate her decision. If we were adopting a toddler it would be a matter for the courts to decide if the child's placement with the parents is best for the child. However, we are not adopting a toddler. We are adopting a teenager, a young woman with a mind of her own; her own opinions, strengths, weaknesses, fears, pains, and everything else. It is a big choice for her to make. Can you imagine being 16 and having to agree to move to a foreign country where you don't speak the language and don't know anything about the culture with parents who you don't know but will be making decisions for you? Could you leave all of your friends who have been there with you in the orphanage, the ones who have experienced some of the same pains you have? Could you go to a public high school in a foreign country with all of the drama of teenage high school life going on around you and you don't understand it? I don't know if I could, yet I am here asking her to do that. How I would love to be inside her head hearing her thoughts. How I would love to know her fears so I could help alleviate them and make her feel safe. I know that life will be hard for her but it will be worth the struggles. I know what is waiting for her on the other side of the ocean. But she does not, yet she must choose "yes" or "no" to take me up on the offer of a "forever family". I watched our son struggle through a lot of this when we adopted him. Now I will have to watch our daughter struggle through. It pains my heart to see them have to struggle so hard for something so many people take for granted. God has said in His word that he will not leave us as orphans, that He will come for us. We have a hard time turning it all over to God, the creator of all things in this world. How hard must it be for an orphan to turn it all over to imperfect parents? Please be praying for peace in her heart as she makes this decision on Thursday. She needs the wisdom and comfort of our Heavenly Father guiding her thoughts and her words. I also ask that you pray the same for me and the rest of the adoption process.
Some of the girls in our area who have been adopted from Ukraine are intending to write letters to our daughter to tell her about the things they struggled with. I think that is a very sweet gesture from the girls. I may try to get them to her tomorrow.
Thank you very much. I hope you have a great afternoon and evening.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
I am in Odessa
Good morning to you all from Odessa!! I made it here yesterday. We dropped our bags at our apartment and then ran all day. We had our first appointment with a social worker at 9 am, which took a while. Then we drove to the orphanage and visited with the director and our daughter for a while. They agreed to allow me to visit with our daughter each day through the holidays and we will resume taking care of business on Thursday. I visited with her alone yesterday afternoon for a while. She is full of questions and has lots of things to think about.
After that visit was finished I rode the bus downtown and met some friends at McDonald's and then more friends met us at the opera. I have never been to an opera before so it was very interesting. There were some really random things in a couple of scenes that really took me by surprise. One of my friends said that it was an unusual opera and that I would find some of the really good ones much more interesting.
I really enjoy being back in Odessa. It is a beautiful city and the weather is wonderful for walking. If you are ever in Ukraine this is one place you should come to visit.
I am getting ready to leave for church. I hope you all have a wonderful day!!
After that visit was finished I rode the bus downtown and met some friends at McDonald's and then more friends met us at the opera. I have never been to an opera before so it was very interesting. There were some really random things in a couple of scenes that really took me by surprise. One of my friends said that it was an unusual opera and that I would find some of the really good ones much more interesting.
I really enjoy being back in Odessa. It is a beautiful city and the weather is wonderful for walking. If you are ever in Ukraine this is one place you should come to visit.
I am getting ready to leave for church. I hope you all have a wonderful day!!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
SDA Success
The SDA has granted us approval to go visit our daughter in her orphanage. There was no waiting line when we arrived at the building. They called us right in when we got there and were immediately taken back to an office to meet with one of the agents. I think we were her first appointment of the day. The lady who handled our case this morning was so friendly and nice. They pulled her file, asked a few questions, called the orphanage where our daughter lives to verify that she is there, and then agreed that we would be able to go visit her. We will have to go tomorrow to pick up our referral papers. Tomorrow night we will ride the overnight train to the city where our daughter lives. Tuesday and Wednesday are official holidays in Ukraine, so the government has made Saturday a work day so people can take off Monday too. That means, if all goes well, there is a possibility that we could get things put in place to meet our daughter on Saturday after we arrive in her city. Please pray with me that we will have favor and everything will fall into place for us to meet on Saturday. If that doesn't happen I will not get to meet my new daughter until Thursday, the first working day of the week after the holidays.
Thank you for your prayers and your support.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
I am in Kiev
Well, I am finally in Kiev. It wasn't easy getting here, but I made it. The first leg of my trip went great. The plane arriving for my second leg of the trip was delayed because of weather and that threw off the entire rest of my trip. I missed my connection to go across the Atlantic, stood in line for three hours to get my tickets reassigned, which caused me to miss three more flights that would have gotten me to where I needed to go. Finally, the agent found a ticket through Paris that was going to Kiev and put me on that plane just in time. With all of the changes, my luggage was nowhere to be found. Please pray that my luggage arrives in Kiev before I leave on Friday night. I would really like for my luggage to get here. When my son and I came to visit last summer they lost our luggage on the trip to Ukraine and it has not yet been found. We spent the entire two weeks here with only two sets of clothes each, one to wear and one to wash. I hope my current luggage does not experience the same fate. Note to those of you who will be following after me in adoption: Pack all that you need for the first few days, to include your SDA appointment, in your carry on luggage. I am so glad I did that this time. Also, pack clothes that can be easily hand washed and will dry relatively quickly. Not every apartment has a washing machine and heavy clothes take a long time to air dry.
I had intended to post on the blog over the weekend, but I simply did not have time. I had to finish painting our daughter's room and we got about half of the floor laid down. I did not get to finish with the dresser I was working on. I guess Vernon or one of the boys will have to take care of that stuff for me. I will be excited to see the finished product when I return home.
Several people have inquired about our funds. With all that we saved, all of the fundraisers and the donations God has blessed us beyond measure. With the exception of the plane tickets we have all of the money we think we will need. I put my ticket on a credit card and pulled the money we had left in our adoption fund out in cash to bring with me. If all goes as planned I am hoping to have everything covered. Thank you so much for serving God by helping bring an orphan into a family to call her own forever. I pray that you will each be blessed as much, or even more, than we have been throughout this adoption process. Note to those of you working on an adoption: Notify your bank a few weeks before you think you will be leaving that you need to have a certain amount of money in new, or at least in excellent condition. The exchange places prefer the money to be in really good shape or they will give you a lower exchange rate and may even refuse to accept it if it is torn or messed up more than they like.
I am getting really sleepy now so I think I will go sleep off some more of this jet lag. I hope you will all have a great day! I will post more after we go to the SDA appointment tomorrow morning. If you think about us say a prayer on our behalf (my appointment time is about 2:00 am Central Time zone).
I had intended to post on the blog over the weekend, but I simply did not have time. I had to finish painting our daughter's room and we got about half of the floor laid down. I did not get to finish with the dresser I was working on. I guess Vernon or one of the boys will have to take care of that stuff for me. I will be excited to see the finished product when I return home.
Several people have inquired about our funds. With all that we saved, all of the fundraisers and the donations God has blessed us beyond measure. With the exception of the plane tickets we have all of the money we think we will need. I put my ticket on a credit card and pulled the money we had left in our adoption fund out in cash to bring with me. If all goes as planned I am hoping to have everything covered. Thank you so much for serving God by helping bring an orphan into a family to call her own forever. I pray that you will each be blessed as much, or even more, than we have been throughout this adoption process. Note to those of you working on an adoption: Notify your bank a few weeks before you think you will be leaving that you need to have a certain amount of money in new, or at least in excellent condition. The exchange places prefer the money to be in really good shape or they will give you a lower exchange rate and may even refuse to accept it if it is torn or messed up more than they like.
I am getting really sleepy now so I think I will go sleep off some more of this jet lag. I hope you will all have a great day! I will post more after we go to the SDA appointment tomorrow morning. If you think about us say a prayer on our behalf (my appointment time is about 2:00 am Central Time zone).
Friday, April 13, 2012
The rest of the story
Well, it is middle of the night and I can't sleep. I just have too much on my mind. Imagine that!!! So, I thought I would post on the blog and finish the story I started last time, but from a different perspective. If you see lots of mistakes, please forgive me. I am not usually up at this time of night (morning) and my brain may not be quite up to speed. I hope you will be able to get my point by the time I finish.
Before I start with the story, I just want to let you know that I have reserved tickets to fly out on the 23rd of April and will arrive in Kiev on the 24th. It is a long trip and I appreciate your prayers for safe and smooth travels. When Josh and I went to Ukraine this past summer the airlines lost our luggage on the way over. We spent two weeks in Ukraine with two outfits each. That was not fun at all!!! I really don't want to lose my luggage again, so I would appreciate your prayers that my luggage will also have a safe and smooth trip, and will be reconnected with me when I disembark in Kiev.
Now for the story. We did not tell our son that he was being adopted until we got to Ukraine and had the referral papers on hand. So he did not know anything about us starting the process in 2006 and being turned down for adoption in the spring of 2007. Josh told me later, after our communication had improved, that he knew he had not been a good boy and didn't deserve to be adopted so he didn't think anybody would ever come for him. Can you imagine thinking that you were so bad as child that nobody would ever want you?? That just breaks my heart. Needless to say, he was totally blown away when we said that we were there to adopt him in 2009. Initially Josh very unsure about it all. He really had to think on it for a while and talk to his aunt before he would say yes or no. Finally, he made the decision that he wanted to be adopted by us and move to America to live with our family. I simply can't imagine life without him in our family. I believe he made the right choice. :)
After Josh learned enough English to communicate more easily with us, we talked to him about his adoption. He told us that he and his family were very suspicious of our motives for adopting a child when we already had three children. It was frightening to hear all of those horror stories about people adopting children and abusing them, locking them up, or even selling them in the sex trafficking trade. But, since he had met me in 2008 and felt that I had a good heart and would have good intentions for him, he thought it would be good to come with us. Josh also asked why we did not tell him in advance that we were adopting him. I explained to him about how we had submitted an application for him and was turned down by the old agency for adoptions so we did not want to disappoint him if we were turned down again. In fact, up until the day we boarded the plane there were rumors that the Ukrainian government was going to stop international adoptions again and restructure and improve the agencies in the government that handled orphan care and adoptions. The restructuring did occur, but not by completely stopping adoptions. We can only Praise Jesus that the adoption processes remained intact so that we could complete the adoption and bring him home.
Josh understood our point and could agree that it might be difficult to think you are being adopted by a family to then be told that they were not approved to adopt. He then told us that if we had been approved on our original application and arrived in Ukraine in the spring of 2007, he would not have agreed to be adopted. He was still young and would have been too scared to accept, and his family would have fought hard to prevent his adoption. We were stunned. If we had forced the adoption back then, resubmitting and continuing with the process, we might not have Josh with us now. My mind and heart just can't go there.
Being able to look back on it all now, we clearly see how God worked it all out. What we thought were stumbling blocks or closed doors turned out to be critical positioning points to put us, as individuals and as a family, in the right position to succeed in reaching the goal God had placed before us. God called us to adopt and we followed through. It took us two tries, but we did do what God called us to. God taught us so much about just saying "YES" to His call throughout the adoption process. It was not easy at all. Adoption is like a huge roller coaster with very steep inclines with high peaks and very steep and fast declines. We had to grow strong enough in our faith to withstand the challenges that go along with that kind of a ride. God didn't permanently close the door of adoption, he only kept it closed long enough for everybody to be ready. Josh had to reach a point where he could look forward enough to see (or hope for) the future that lay before him with a family to call his own forever. Our family had to grow enough to accept someone completely different from us living in our home. God showed himself faithful to us and gave us peace and strength through it all. There have been many challenges along the way; adjustment issues, personality conflicts, misunderstandings, hurts and pains throwing kinks into things we thought would be easier, and all kinds of things that we all had to face head on. On the flip side of that, there have been many wonderful times filled with laughter and joy. We have been able to watch (in awe most of the time) as our son is blossoming and becoming the man that God intended him to be. God has walked us through it all!!! Only He can orchestrate as complex as putting our family together the way he has.
Now, here we are, riding the adoption roller coaster all over again. We have said "Yes", as long as God is the one doing the driving.
Before I start with the story, I just want to let you know that I have reserved tickets to fly out on the 23rd of April and will arrive in Kiev on the 24th. It is a long trip and I appreciate your prayers for safe and smooth travels. When Josh and I went to Ukraine this past summer the airlines lost our luggage on the way over. We spent two weeks in Ukraine with two outfits each. That was not fun at all!!! I really don't want to lose my luggage again, so I would appreciate your prayers that my luggage will also have a safe and smooth trip, and will be reconnected with me when I disembark in Kiev.
Now for the story. We did not tell our son that he was being adopted until we got to Ukraine and had the referral papers on hand. So he did not know anything about us starting the process in 2006 and being turned down for adoption in the spring of 2007. Josh told me later, after our communication had improved, that he knew he had not been a good boy and didn't deserve to be adopted so he didn't think anybody would ever come for him. Can you imagine thinking that you were so bad as child that nobody would ever want you?? That just breaks my heart. Needless to say, he was totally blown away when we said that we were there to adopt him in 2009. Initially Josh very unsure about it all. He really had to think on it for a while and talk to his aunt before he would say yes or no. Finally, he made the decision that he wanted to be adopted by us and move to America to live with our family. I simply can't imagine life without him in our family. I believe he made the right choice. :)
After Josh learned enough English to communicate more easily with us, we talked to him about his adoption. He told us that he and his family were very suspicious of our motives for adopting a child when we already had three children. It was frightening to hear all of those horror stories about people adopting children and abusing them, locking them up, or even selling them in the sex trafficking trade. But, since he had met me in 2008 and felt that I had a good heart and would have good intentions for him, he thought it would be good to come with us. Josh also asked why we did not tell him in advance that we were adopting him. I explained to him about how we had submitted an application for him and was turned down by the old agency for adoptions so we did not want to disappoint him if we were turned down again. In fact, up until the day we boarded the plane there were rumors that the Ukrainian government was going to stop international adoptions again and restructure and improve the agencies in the government that handled orphan care and adoptions. The restructuring did occur, but not by completely stopping adoptions. We can only Praise Jesus that the adoption processes remained intact so that we could complete the adoption and bring him home.
Josh understood our point and could agree that it might be difficult to think you are being adopted by a family to then be told that they were not approved to adopt. He then told us that if we had been approved on our original application and arrived in Ukraine in the spring of 2007, he would not have agreed to be adopted. He was still young and would have been too scared to accept, and his family would have fought hard to prevent his adoption. We were stunned. If we had forced the adoption back then, resubmitting and continuing with the process, we might not have Josh with us now. My mind and heart just can't go there.
Being able to look back on it all now, we clearly see how God worked it all out. What we thought were stumbling blocks or closed doors turned out to be critical positioning points to put us, as individuals and as a family, in the right position to succeed in reaching the goal God had placed before us. God called us to adopt and we followed through. It took us two tries, but we did do what God called us to. God taught us so much about just saying "YES" to His call throughout the adoption process. It was not easy at all. Adoption is like a huge roller coaster with very steep inclines with high peaks and very steep and fast declines. We had to grow strong enough in our faith to withstand the challenges that go along with that kind of a ride. God didn't permanently close the door of adoption, he only kept it closed long enough for everybody to be ready. Josh had to reach a point where he could look forward enough to see (or hope for) the future that lay before him with a family to call his own forever. Our family had to grow enough to accept someone completely different from us living in our home. God showed himself faithful to us and gave us peace and strength through it all. There have been many challenges along the way; adjustment issues, personality conflicts, misunderstandings, hurts and pains throwing kinks into things we thought would be easier, and all kinds of things that we all had to face head on. On the flip side of that, there have been many wonderful times filled with laughter and joy. We have been able to watch (in awe most of the time) as our son is blossoming and becoming the man that God intended him to be. God has walked us through it all!!! Only He can orchestrate as complex as putting our family together the way he has.
Now, here we are, riding the adoption roller coaster all over again. We have said "Yes", as long as God is the one doing the driving.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Comment from Jes
I must apologize for my lack of attention to technology. I thought I was saving drafts of my last post, but it turns out it was publishing my "drafts". I have deleted two of the drafts so that I only have one post about the appointment. In the process of deleting the drafts I deleted the comment that Jessica made. So, Jessica I will answer your questions here.
First let me say that I really appreciate the prayers and support that everybody is giving us. The first time we adopted we did not have so much support. People actually told us we were crazy and they didn't think we should adopt. Even close friends were opposed to our adoption. They were praying for us, but all in all, we didn't feel that we had as much love and support and encouragement as we feel that we have this time. So now, I can't say thank you enough. It means more to me that you can even imagine to know that so many people are really backing us and praying to our Holy God on our behalf.
Now, to the questions you asked. You asked if we are adopting with an agency or independent and if we had been to Ukraine before. We are adopting independent with the assistance of the translators we used last time. Our translators are Kostya and Vanya. Their web site is http://ukraineadoption.org/ if you are interested in checking them out. They did such a great job and helped us so much that we wanted to use their services again this time. We had tried to adopt our son back in 2006 with a different translator and our application was rejected. That translator came down hard on us and made it out to be our fault that our application was turned down and told us we should have done a better job of checking everything. It was our first time, so we didn't have a clue what would be acceptable in Ukraine or what would be rejected. We had a US person review our application before we sent it to him and that person had given us the OK. We thought it was all good. We felt like, if he was the professional who does this for a living he should have caught anything that would not be accepted when he was doing the translation. When we found that our application to adopt had been turned down, we were in the middle of a family crisis so we made the decision to wait to resubmit until things were going better at home. Then, the Ukrainian government halted all international adoptions for a period of time. We thought that maybe God was throwing some kinks in there to tell us not to adopt. Our prayer was that if God was not the one leading us to adopt that he would stop the adoption by closing doors that we cannot open. The Ukrainian government completely closing down international adoptions is obviously a door we can't open. So we waited for a long time, even after Ukraine re instituted international adoptions, still knowing that we were supposed to do something for him but not knowing what. In 2008 a friend of mine was going on a trip to Ukraine to meet the son she was working on adopting. She asked my daughter, who was still in high school at the time, to go with her. I pretty much said you are not going to Ukraine without me. So I went to Ukraine with my friend and daughter. Once I met the kids at the orphanage I fell in love with so many of them. We stayed with a missionary and visited the orphanage almost every day to just love on the kids. It was during that visit that I met my son for the first time. After meeting him, my daughter and I both just knew that we had to begin the adoption process again. I went home from that visit and told my husband that we had to bring him home, he was supposed to be in our family as our son. We started the process all over again. We traveled to Ukraine in June of 2009 and returned at the end of July with our son. It was an amazing trip, an amazing experience, and all glory goes to an amazing God who walked us through every step.
You mentioned that you will be hoping to submit your dossier soon, so you have peaked my curiosity. Are you blogging? If so, please send me your blog address so I can follow along. Where in Ukraine are you adopting from? I would love to hear your story as well.
Thanks for following along.
First let me say that I really appreciate the prayers and support that everybody is giving us. The first time we adopted we did not have so much support. People actually told us we were crazy and they didn't think we should adopt. Even close friends were opposed to our adoption. They were praying for us, but all in all, we didn't feel that we had as much love and support and encouragement as we feel that we have this time. So now, I can't say thank you enough. It means more to me that you can even imagine to know that so many people are really backing us and praying to our Holy God on our behalf.
Now, to the questions you asked. You asked if we are adopting with an agency or independent and if we had been to Ukraine before. We are adopting independent with the assistance of the translators we used last time. Our translators are Kostya and Vanya. Their web site is http://ukraineadoption.org/ if you are interested in checking them out. They did such a great job and helped us so much that we wanted to use their services again this time. We had tried to adopt our son back in 2006 with a different translator and our application was rejected. That translator came down hard on us and made it out to be our fault that our application was turned down and told us we should have done a better job of checking everything. It was our first time, so we didn't have a clue what would be acceptable in Ukraine or what would be rejected. We had a US person review our application before we sent it to him and that person had given us the OK. We thought it was all good. We felt like, if he was the professional who does this for a living he should have caught anything that would not be accepted when he was doing the translation. When we found that our application to adopt had been turned down, we were in the middle of a family crisis so we made the decision to wait to resubmit until things were going better at home. Then, the Ukrainian government halted all international adoptions for a period of time. We thought that maybe God was throwing some kinks in there to tell us not to adopt. Our prayer was that if God was not the one leading us to adopt that he would stop the adoption by closing doors that we cannot open. The Ukrainian government completely closing down international adoptions is obviously a door we can't open. So we waited for a long time, even after Ukraine re instituted international adoptions, still knowing that we were supposed to do something for him but not knowing what. In 2008 a friend of mine was going on a trip to Ukraine to meet the son she was working on adopting. She asked my daughter, who was still in high school at the time, to go with her. I pretty much said you are not going to Ukraine without me. So I went to Ukraine with my friend and daughter. Once I met the kids at the orphanage I fell in love with so many of them. We stayed with a missionary and visited the orphanage almost every day to just love on the kids. It was during that visit that I met my son for the first time. After meeting him, my daughter and I both just knew that we had to begin the adoption process again. I went home from that visit and told my husband that we had to bring him home, he was supposed to be in our family as our son. We started the process all over again. We traveled to Ukraine in June of 2009 and returned at the end of July with our son. It was an amazing trip, an amazing experience, and all glory goes to an amazing God who walked us through every step.
You mentioned that you will be hoping to submit your dossier soon, so you have peaked my curiosity. Are you blogging? If so, please send me your blog address so I can follow along. Where in Ukraine are you adopting from? I would love to hear your story as well.
Thanks for following along.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
We have an appointment!!!!
I received email notification today that we have an appointment for April 26th!!!! I am SOOOOOO excited!!!! We received notice last week that we were approved to adopt but we thought we would find out yesterday when our appointment was. Our appointment was not assigned yesterday, so I was anxiously waiting to hear from my translator today. I nearly jumped out of my seat when I saw that there was an email from him. It is really nice to finally have a definitive date.
So now, I have so much to do in such a short period of time. We still have not painted the bedroom or finished refinishing the dresser for our daughter's room. I am hoping that will get done this weekend. I still have to book my tickets and start packing. Hopefully the tickets will get booked tomorrow. The packing will be done over several days. :) I still have a few things to pick up for the trip, so I will also have to do some shopping. We have most of the money in the bank, so I will have to make arrangements for the bank to get new bills for me to take. I should get a call tomorrow to let me know when to expect that to be available. I have tried to get everything at work done so that it will be as painless as I can make it for my co-workers. I am sure I will forget something, I typically do.
Thank you so much for helping us financially, praying for us and supporting us as we proceed through this adoption. We really appreciate all that our friends and family have done for us and share with us. We love you all.
So now, I have so much to do in such a short period of time. We still have not painted the bedroom or finished refinishing the dresser for our daughter's room. I am hoping that will get done this weekend. I still have to book my tickets and start packing. Hopefully the tickets will get booked tomorrow. The packing will be done over several days. :) I still have a few things to pick up for the trip, so I will also have to do some shopping. We have most of the money in the bank, so I will have to make arrangements for the bank to get new bills for me to take. I should get a call tomorrow to let me know when to expect that to be available. I have tried to get everything at work done so that it will be as painless as I can make it for my co-workers. I am sure I will forget something, I typically do.
Thank you so much for helping us financially, praying for us and supporting us as we proceed through this adoption. We really appreciate all that our friends and family have done for us and share with us. We love you all.
Monday, April 2, 2012
No appointment yet
We still have not received notification of our approval and appointment date. It is hard to wait and wait with no information coming. I know that all will happen in God's timing. He is laying the path before me and I will follow that path when the timing is right. God is never too early, and never too late.
The finances are falling into place. We have received donations and have saved money at every chance. The amount we have still need is around $5,000. Thank you so much to everybody who has given us their donations and support for the adoption. We sincerely appreciate all that everybody is doing to help us.
We have made some progress in preparing the bedroom we are preparing for our daughter. The carpet is out and the walls are being prepared for painting. I have never refinished furniture before, but I am trying to do that now with an old dresser we have not been using for some time. I hope it will be pretty and look well done when I get finished. It certainly won't be good if it looks like very poor work when I get done. I am learning a lot as I go along.
The finances are falling into place. We have received donations and have saved money at every chance. The amount we have still need is around $5,000. Thank you so much to everybody who has given us their donations and support for the adoption. We sincerely appreciate all that everybody is doing to help us.
We have made some progress in preparing the bedroom we are preparing for our daughter. The carpet is out and the walls are being prepared for painting. I have never refinished furniture before, but I am trying to do that now with an old dresser we have not been using for some time. I hope it will be pretty and look well done when I get finished. It certainly won't be good if it looks like very poor work when I get done. I am learning a lot as I go along.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Thank you!!
I wanted to write this post to publicly say THANK YOU to all of you. So many people are donating to our adoption fund and stepping in beside us to bring our daughter home. People we have not even met are chipping in financially and with many prayers for us. Thank you seems inadequate, but I don't know what else to say. Your sacrificial giving and your intercession in prayer for us are an amazing testimony of the God who loves us all and brings His people together to see full implementation of His grace and mercy for an orphan who is seeking love in a family. My husband and I are not taking this journey alone. God is leading us and making the path for us to walk with Him, and the path that our daughter will take to meet Him in a very personal way. We are encouraged by all of you who are joining with us as you follow along and we feel your support in every step we take.
I have not yet received a travel date. I am ready to go as soon as I get word that everything has been approved and an appointment date and time have been granted. I will most definitely post on her when I do receive more information.
I have not yet received a travel date. I am ready to go as soon as I get word that everything has been approved and an appointment date and time have been granted. I will most definitely post on her when I do receive more information.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Dossier Submitted!!
Our translator was successful in submitting our application!! I have been excited all day after hearing such great news!! Now we wait to hear back from the agency on whether or not they will approve us to adopt. If they permit us to adopt, they will set us up with an appointment to meet with them to obtain a referral to the orphanage where our daughter is. I really am praying for sooner rather than later. I am ready to go any time they tell me to be there.
We are updating the room that will be our new daughter's room. I don't think it will be done by the time I leave, but I hope it will be done before I get home with her. We are only doing things on the weekends and evenings after work so it will take a lot longer than it would if we could work on it full time. But, it will be nice to have her come home to a nicely painted and decorated room. Girls are more interested in how things look than the slew of boys I have at home now. As long as the boys have a comfortable place to sleep and food to eat they could really care less about anything else.
I pray frequently that God will pour out His favor on us as we walk this journey. God understands the intricate details of weaving families together when new members join in. I believe that if we seek Him at all times and let Him guide us, the adjustment will progress more positively than if we try to force things to happen based on what we want and when we want it. I pray for patience for all of us as we draw nearer to the time that all will fall into place physically and logistically, but not necessarily in place emotionally and in relationship building. Please continue to pray for us all as we proceed into the next step of the adoption process.
Also, pray for me as I travel for the adoption. It is unsettling to think about leaving my husband and my boys for several weeks as I am in Ukraine to complete the adoption. We are asking God to give us favor and make our process as easy and smooth as possible. I would really like to be home in as short a time as possible.
Thank you for praying with me and for me and my family. God's favor and guidance is what we seek most.
We are updating the room that will be our new daughter's room. I don't think it will be done by the time I leave, but I hope it will be done before I get home with her. We are only doing things on the weekends and evenings after work so it will take a lot longer than it would if we could work on it full time. But, it will be nice to have her come home to a nicely painted and decorated room. Girls are more interested in how things look than the slew of boys I have at home now. As long as the boys have a comfortable place to sleep and food to eat they could really care less about anything else.
I pray frequently that God will pour out His favor on us as we walk this journey. God understands the intricate details of weaving families together when new members join in. I believe that if we seek Him at all times and let Him guide us, the adjustment will progress more positively than if we try to force things to happen based on what we want and when we want it. I pray for patience for all of us as we draw nearer to the time that all will fall into place physically and logistically, but not necessarily in place emotionally and in relationship building. Please continue to pray for us all as we proceed into the next step of the adoption process.
Also, pray for me as I travel for the adoption. It is unsettling to think about leaving my husband and my boys for several weeks as I am in Ukraine to complete the adoption. We are asking God to give us favor and make our process as easy and smooth as possible. I would really like to be home in as short a time as possible.
Thank you for praying with me and for me and my family. God's favor and guidance is what we seek most.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Quick update
Our translator has our application!! It has been translated and notarized. Everything is ready for the application to be submitted to the agency. This week has holidays Thursday through Sunday, so our translator was not able to schedule an appointment to submit on Monday, March 12th. He is planning to go to the agency and try to submit even though he doesn't have an appointment. Please agree with us in prayer that he will be able to do that. Our translator will have to travel a great distance to submit and it and it would be preferable to not have to make that trip multiple times. If he cannot submit on Monday without an appointment, he will have to schedule an appointment for the next Monday, assuming one will be available on that day. We are praying that I can travel as soon as possible, so we really are hoping for no more delays.
Also, please be praying that the rest of the money will be available. We are still a few thousand dollars short for the total cost. God has called us to this and God will see us through to the completion of it. We believe that God has the finances already set aside. We are just praying that those will be made available to us before I get on that plane.
I will post again Monday night to let you know if our application was submitted. Have a great weekend.
Also, please be praying that the rest of the money will be available. We are still a few thousand dollars short for the total cost. God has called us to this and God will see us through to the completion of it. We believe that God has the finances already set aside. We are just praying that those will be made available to us before I get on that plane.
I will post again Monday night to let you know if our application was submitted. Have a great weekend.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Application in the mail!!!
Our application was officially sent to to Ukraine via FedEx today. Vernon and I had meetings today so my best friend Lynn took that package to FedEx for us. Like I have said before, I have such wonderful friends and family. Lynn said that it should arrive in Ukraine on the 7th. Our translator will submit it on the 12th. Then we wait for a notice to travel and an appointment. I am so excited!!
But, I covet your prayers more and more every day. The closer we get to being able to travel for the adoption the more I pray for our daughter. At this point in time, she does not know that she is being adopted. She is unprepared for what lies ahead. There are choices to make, based on what she thinks life will be like but without any real perspective on which to make those choices. She will have to leave her entire world behind and move into the unknown. A new home with an unfamiliar family, a new language, a new culture. She will have to learn how to live with parents telling her what to do, where to go and when to get back. She will move from an environment with little support and few expectations to an environment where she will be supported and encouraged to dream. If she works hard she can make those dreams become a reality. She will be immersed in high school while trying to come to terms with all of these other issues. High school is hard enough without all of these other issues piled on. She needs your prayers. It will be very difficult for her.
It will also be difficult for the rest of our family. Our oldest daughter moved out of the house a couple of years ago so the boys will have to adjust to having a sister in the house again. Personalities may mix well or they may clash. We will have to learn what makes her happy, what makes her sad, what makes her angry and so on. We will have to build relationships, learn how to trust each other, and learn how to become a "family". It doesn't happen over night. We all need prayer. God's intervention and wisdom are what we seek the most. God's intervention in everybody's hearts, to give us patience and compassion all across the board. God's wisdome to know when to stand firm and when to exhibit grace and mercy. God has called us all to this journey and he will walk with us every step of the way. He won't make everything perfect, but He will walk through the challenges and the victories beside us.
Thank you for your prayers and for your support. Be blessed.
But, I covet your prayers more and more every day. The closer we get to being able to travel for the adoption the more I pray for our daughter. At this point in time, she does not know that she is being adopted. She is unprepared for what lies ahead. There are choices to make, based on what she thinks life will be like but without any real perspective on which to make those choices. She will have to leave her entire world behind and move into the unknown. A new home with an unfamiliar family, a new language, a new culture. She will have to learn how to live with parents telling her what to do, where to go and when to get back. She will move from an environment with little support and few expectations to an environment where she will be supported and encouraged to dream. If she works hard she can make those dreams become a reality. She will be immersed in high school while trying to come to terms with all of these other issues. High school is hard enough without all of these other issues piled on. She needs your prayers. It will be very difficult for her.
It will also be difficult for the rest of our family. Our oldest daughter moved out of the house a couple of years ago so the boys will have to adjust to having a sister in the house again. Personalities may mix well or they may clash. We will have to learn what makes her happy, what makes her sad, what makes her angry and so on. We will have to build relationships, learn how to trust each other, and learn how to become a "family". It doesn't happen over night. We all need prayer. God's intervention and wisdom are what we seek the most. God's intervention in everybody's hearts, to give us patience and compassion all across the board. God's wisdome to know when to stand firm and when to exhibit grace and mercy. God has called us all to this journey and he will walk with us every step of the way. He won't make everything perfect, but He will walk through the challenges and the victories beside us.
Thank you for your prayers and for your support. Be blessed.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Mountain tops and valleys
Well, so much has happened, I don't even know where to begin.
We received confirmation from Open Arms Adoption that we have been approved for their services. Open Arms Adoption is a ministry from a church in Columbia, South Carolina. They accept donations on behalf of adoptive parents to help them fund the adoption expenses. This is a service that gives tax deductions for people who donate to help fund adoptions. When a donation is submitted, 100% of the donation directly contributes to our adoption fund. If you are interested in helping fund our adoption and help us bring our daughter home you can send a check made payable to Christian Life and write Open Arms-Tygart Family in the memo line to the following address.
Sad to say, but we still have not sent our application to our translator. Fortunately, we did get the approval from immigration services. As we were doing a final check of documents and getting them ready to scan in and send to our translator, Vernon noticed that the addendum to our home study was signed and notarized the day after their license expired. We asked if they could just back date the letter by a day or so. They said they could not. Even though we had been discussing it for weeks, I did not know that I was supposed to officially request an addendum in writing. I sent the official request in writing on the first of February, so that is the earliest date they can put on the addendum. You guessed it, their license expired the 31st of January. So, we have been waiting for the agency's license renewal for two weeks. Vernon got the call this morning that the license has finally been signed. Now the agency has to update the addendum and call us so we can go pick it up with a notarized copy of the agency's license. We should be able to get the apostille very quickly after we pick up the addendum and license. When we have that we can send our application to our translator. I am hopeful, once again, that we can do that within the next few days.
We had originally hoped to have our application done and in the hands of our translator when the agency in Ukraine opened for business on February 1. We are now not going to have in our translator's hands by the first of March. We had hoped to be traveling by mid-March, but it is now looking more likely going to be mid-April.
It seems that we go from a mountain top of excitement with another completed document to a valley of oh-no, I can't believe we have another glitch. This roller coaster ride is dizzying. I keep telling myself, and my friends keep telling me, it will all happen in God's perfect timing. We know this with 100% certainty. When we were preparing to adopt our son we had delay after delay. We were denied adoption by the Ukraine agency because of a couple of glitches in our paperwork. Then Ukraine quit allowing international adoptions. We questioned if we had misunderstood God's calling. Door after door seemed to be closing in our face. We still knew that our call was certain, but the obstacles seemed insurmountable. We rode the roller coaster of mountain top to valley many times. We waited a while to see if we could confirm deep in our hearts that we were absolutely, beyond any doubt hearing from God. We were still certain. I went to Ukraine with my daughter and a friend in 2008. We went to the orphanage where Josh was at with a missionary friend that we were staying at her house. The director allowed her to take our son Josh, my friend's future son Grisha, and two other boys to her house for the weekend so we could spend some time with them. It was amazing to meet the boy I knew God was calling me to adopt and raise as my son. So, as you can imagine, I talked with Vernon when I got home and we prayed even more to confirm God's calling. We decided to start the paperwork a second time, following what we knew was God's calling. We completed the document trail and went to Ukraine to adopt Josh. We had several mountain top moments and several valley moments, but we made it through. It wasn't until after the adoption was complete and Josh had been home that we realized the role that each delay had played in the completion of God's plan. Josh told us that, if we had completed the adoption paperwork the first time he would not have agreed to come home with us. Josh was still young enough at that time to have been too afraid to come. He would have been too young to have proven to his family that adoption was what he wanted. We had discussed the possibility of him not agreeing to be adopted and had decided that we would choose another child in that situation. But, we would not have Josh with us. I can't imagine life without Josh. He is my son in every way. I don't want to imagine life without him.
Now, here we are again riding the roller coaster of adoption. Mountain top to valley. With each turn of events we may be dancing with joy or fighting off frustration and disappointment. But each turn of events just confirms even more how much we need God's mighty hand directing our paths. Whether it is a mountain top kind of day or a valley kind of day. It will all fall into place in just the right spot on God's timeline. One day we will be able to see how it all fits and can praise God specifically for each delay and each victory as they helped bring God's plan to fruition in our lives.
Have a great week. I will post again when we get our last documents pulled together and have sent the application to Ukraine. Thank you so much for the encouragement in this process. Friends and family are true blessings.
We received confirmation from Open Arms Adoption that we have been approved for their services. Open Arms Adoption is a ministry from a church in Columbia, South Carolina. They accept donations on behalf of adoptive parents to help them fund the adoption expenses. This is a service that gives tax deductions for people who donate to help fund adoptions. When a donation is submitted, 100% of the donation directly contributes to our adoption fund. If you are interested in helping fund our adoption and help us bring our daughter home you can send a check made payable to Christian Life and write Open Arms-Tygart Family in the memo line to the following address.
Christian Life
1722 Denny Rd.
Columbia, SC 29203
Sad to say, but we still have not sent our application to our translator. Fortunately, we did get the approval from immigration services. As we were doing a final check of documents and getting them ready to scan in and send to our translator, Vernon noticed that the addendum to our home study was signed and notarized the day after their license expired. We asked if they could just back date the letter by a day or so. They said they could not. Even though we had been discussing it for weeks, I did not know that I was supposed to officially request an addendum in writing. I sent the official request in writing on the first of February, so that is the earliest date they can put on the addendum. You guessed it, their license expired the 31st of January. So, we have been waiting for the agency's license renewal for two weeks. Vernon got the call this morning that the license has finally been signed. Now the agency has to update the addendum and call us so we can go pick it up with a notarized copy of the agency's license. We should be able to get the apostille very quickly after we pick up the addendum and license. When we have that we can send our application to our translator. I am hopeful, once again, that we can do that within the next few days.
We had originally hoped to have our application done and in the hands of our translator when the agency in Ukraine opened for business on February 1. We are now not going to have in our translator's hands by the first of March. We had hoped to be traveling by mid-March, but it is now looking more likely going to be mid-April.
It seems that we go from a mountain top of excitement with another completed document to a valley of oh-no, I can't believe we have another glitch. This roller coaster ride is dizzying. I keep telling myself, and my friends keep telling me, it will all happen in God's perfect timing. We know this with 100% certainty. When we were preparing to adopt our son we had delay after delay. We were denied adoption by the Ukraine agency because of a couple of glitches in our paperwork. Then Ukraine quit allowing international adoptions. We questioned if we had misunderstood God's calling. Door after door seemed to be closing in our face. We still knew that our call was certain, but the obstacles seemed insurmountable. We rode the roller coaster of mountain top to valley many times. We waited a while to see if we could confirm deep in our hearts that we were absolutely, beyond any doubt hearing from God. We were still certain. I went to Ukraine with my daughter and a friend in 2008. We went to the orphanage where Josh was at with a missionary friend that we were staying at her house. The director allowed her to take our son Josh, my friend's future son Grisha, and two other boys to her house for the weekend so we could spend some time with them. It was amazing to meet the boy I knew God was calling me to adopt and raise as my son. So, as you can imagine, I talked with Vernon when I got home and we prayed even more to confirm God's calling. We decided to start the paperwork a second time, following what we knew was God's calling. We completed the document trail and went to Ukraine to adopt Josh. We had several mountain top moments and several valley moments, but we made it through. It wasn't until after the adoption was complete and Josh had been home that we realized the role that each delay had played in the completion of God's plan. Josh told us that, if we had completed the adoption paperwork the first time he would not have agreed to come home with us. Josh was still young enough at that time to have been too afraid to come. He would have been too young to have proven to his family that adoption was what he wanted. We had discussed the possibility of him not agreeing to be adopted and had decided that we would choose another child in that situation. But, we would not have Josh with us. I can't imagine life without Josh. He is my son in every way. I don't want to imagine life without him.
Now, here we are again riding the roller coaster of adoption. Mountain top to valley. With each turn of events we may be dancing with joy or fighting off frustration and disappointment. But each turn of events just confirms even more how much we need God's mighty hand directing our paths. Whether it is a mountain top kind of day or a valley kind of day. It will all fall into place in just the right spot on God's timeline. One day we will be able to see how it all fits and can praise God specifically for each delay and each victory as they helped bring God's plan to fruition in our lives.
Have a great week. I will post again when we get our last documents pulled together and have sent the application to Ukraine. Thank you so much for the encouragement in this process. Friends and family are true blessings.
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