And She Said...

Today we arrived at the orphanage at 10am and met with the orphanage director until A got out of class.  When A came into the room we could tell she was still struggling.  She had not been able to get in touch with her brother on the phone last night and so she wasn't sure what to do.  Our facilitator, who is wonderful by the way, along with the director talked with her about what kind of life she would have in America and what kind of life she would have in Ukraine once she graduated from the orphanage in a year.  I don't really think she can grasp that though because if all you know is what is inside the walls of an orphanage then you have no concept of the war that is going on in your country or what America means.

I  brought a photo book of our family and our life and she smiled but still she was unsure. We then had to move to another room since the director had work to do.  When we got to the other room the facilitator asked A if she could have brother's phone number to call him.  She tried but the phone was not in service.  A then gave our facilitator the phone number of her brother's aunt. The aunt was very supportive of A leaving Ukraine and told her it was up to her but to make a wise choice that she would not regret later in life.  They talked for quite some time and after they hung up A was still not sure.  As you can imagine this is such a hard decision to leave everything and everyone you have ever known and start again at almost 16 years old.

And then it was like she was done thinking and she turned to me and she said...YES I want you to be my mother and to Peyton, my sister and she hugged us both tight.  Next she had to write down on a legal document that she wanted me to adopt her.  She then left the room and went to class.  From that point until we left at 3pm the paperwork was moving fast; 3 copies of this, 3 copies of that;, sign here; stamp here. Really so much chaos in the room with all the documents that had to be printed and the phone calls that were made.

Once we left the orphanage we travelled to the administration building to get that part of the paperwork started which should be finished on Monday.  After that we went to the notary so that I could sign the documents to apply for a court date.  Then we finally got to eat at 5 pm.  This was a long day of hurry up and wait.

We did find out today that we have to try and time when the court date will be because when A turns 16 on April 15 she has to get a Ukrainian passport and that can take a month or more.  If we were to have court before she turned 16 and then the 10 day waiting period after court were up we would have to get her out of the orphanage but would not be able to leave Ukraine until we had that passport. So our facilitator will take care of that detail.

Tomorrow A and one of her caregivers, Katerina, such a beautiful, kind woman, will pick us up here at our hotel at 11am.  We will travel around Berdychiv just spending some time together and grab some lunch.  It will be fun to have this time with A outside of the orphanage.  : )

In all the excitement of this day, I have no pictures to share but maybe you can see the pictures in what I wrote.

~Tina  

What a Day

Well, we got to see A this morning about 9:30.  She was so shy, withdrawn and not receptive at all. Tears streaming down her face off and on.  She didn't want to take anything that we had brought to her and would not speak.  It was a bit overwhelming for her to have so many people in the room talking so fast back and forth, back and forth.  Most were shocked she was being withdrawn, although she is shy.  We could not get even half a smile out of her.  The director recommended that we go to another room with just us, the facilitator and her caregiver.  That did not help much but our facilitator did get her to tell why she was upset.  She has an older brother, age 23, that she talks to on the phone occasionally.  He has told her not to go anywhere and when she leaves the orphanage he will help her.  He lives in another region; 6 hours by train.  The director then said we should come back this afternoon and give her some time.

So at 3:00 this afternoon we arrived to a girl who was a little more open.  She still had tears but a smile was now appearing.  She talked to our facilitator again about her brother.  He is the only family that she has.  Her mother passed away in 2012.  Really the orphanage is the only life A knows.  They are her family.  She finally started talking to our facilitator and took the things we had brought for her.  I made sure that our facilitator told her that we did not want her to go with us if she did not want to.  We wanted her to be happy and make the choice that she thought was best for her.  She then relaxed and started coloring a drawing that she had made.  We left around 5, as she had homework, and we all got a hug from her; baby steps.

We will be going to see her again tomorrow morning and we really don't know where this is going to go.  Obviously it would not be right for anyone to talk her in to doing something she does not want but we also have to think about how much time we can spend here.  It seems we will have the weekend with her and then by Monday she will have to decide.

So many mixed feelings.

I rest in the fact that God knows what He is doing. So no worries.

Here are a couple pictures from today.

Here we are with the director of the
orphanage.

Here is A, a little smile. : )

Lots of Pictures

We have had a relaxing day just taking in a few sights as it is still a little cold.  At 4:30p we met our facilitator, Angelina, and went to the SDA and picked up the paperwork we need to go and see A tomorrow.  There was no line.  We waited about 5 minutes and we went in, showed my passport, signed for the paperwork and we were out the door.  Can't wait for tomorrow!

~Tina

Ready to go to breakfast

The breezeway we go through to get
to our apartment.  The brown door back
by the car is where we go in to the stairway.

Here we are in front of the SDA's
official sign.  We actually went in a
side door where there is no sign so
we decided to take our picture in
front of the building.

We Got Her File

Just a short post to say we got A's file today.  Yaaaa!  Our appointment lasted maybe 15 minutes.  There was not a lot of information in her file but it did say she may have scoliosis.  Not sure to what degree so hoping tomorrow the director and doctor at the orphanage will have more information.  Also there were a few pictures in her file and if we bring back some recent photos they said we could have those.

The weather is very cold so not a lot of walking around to take pictures.  I will include pictures of our apartment here in Kiev.  It is located on one of the 3 main streets that run down to the Square.

Tomorrow at 4-5pm we will go and pick up the paperwork that we need to go and visit A.  Then on Thursday morning at 5am we will leave and travel about 2 1/2 hours out of Kiev to the town of Berdychiv.  There we will talk with the social worker and then travel on to the orphanage which is in a rural area. We will probably be there until Monday or Tuesday and then travel back to Kiev and travel home on Wednesday.

Keep the prayers coming.

~Tina

We Made It to Paris So Far

We left KCI at 5:20 pm today and arrived in Atlanta knowing we only had an hour to catch our next flight to Paris.  When we arrived at the gate our flight, that was supposed to leave at 9:35 pm, was delayed.  We boarded our flight to Paris at midnight and we were told that our flight from Paris to Kiev would arrive 6 hours later than scheduled; so in at 11;35 pm.  And here we sit in the airport in Paris with smiles on our faces knowing that at 10 am Tuesday we will have our appointment with the SDA and get A's file.  As tired as we are we know that this is just a season and a few months from now we will be making new memories.

Here is a picture from our departure at KCI.




PS:  For those of you back home, when you see my husband can you tell him how much I love him! How blessed beyond measure I am to be on this journey with him.  I know he will do great holding down the fort but he may need a little encouragement. : )

~Tina

Great News!

We got great news this afternoon!  Our appointment date at the SDA is March 15!  Oh my goodness are we excited!

So I made a pink cake and when the kids got home from school we celebrated!  They were so happy.

Now to schedule our flights and get the packing done.  If you know me well, you know I have already started packing. : )

 I can not believe the time is so near.  Please be praying for this next part of our journey.

~Tina

Waiting is The Hardest Part

We got our tax document this afternoon and I will be taking it tomorrow to be apostilled.  Then off to Ukraine it will go.

We should hear next week about when we need to be in Ukraine for our appointment to get A's file. This waiting is just so hard.  But soon (early March) we will be there.

A's room, which she will share with Peyton, is all ready for her.  Clothes are in the closet and dresser. The name we have chosen for her (if she likes it) is above her bed.  I put a box in front of it just in case she chooses to keep her name. : ) We just need that girl, that we already love, to be here.


 

Every night at dinner the kids make sure they always include her in their prayers.  To them, she is already their sister.  They are just beaming with excitement that the time is almost here.  And, my sweet Caleb always asks when we are eating, will A like this?  He doesn't even remember her from the orphanage, as he was too young when he left there, but he is concerned for her.

So please be praying for us on our upcoming journey.  That God would be glorified through it all.

~Tina



And, ....the winner of our February Adoption Puzzle Fundraiser drawing is, RF.  She got the small red Matryoshka nesting doll.