Doma! (Home)

After a long day of trouble-free travel (our plane arrived an hour early and we breezed through US Immigration in NY) we arrived at Richmond airport and were greeted by Robin D., who gave hugs all around. We collected our stuff and piled into the van. We pulled into the driveway around 9:30 pm, having left Kyiv 19 hours earlier. Ahhh...home!

There was a fridge chock full of prepared food, groceries (thank you Kathy M and Robin!!!!!!! WOWOWOWOW!) and a lovely strawberry cake (thanks Art and Terri!!!!!) waiting for us, plus some sweet English and Russian 'welcome home' signs made by Ella. As we unloaded, we noticed our lawn had been mowed (by Stan and Art) and the brick pathway tidy as can be (weeded by Libby!!!!!!! WOW!). The girl's rooms all had beautiful flowers and balloons from the Doucettes. Kate and Taylor led Elizabeth to her new room and spent a few minutes exploring. But, with everyone so tired, it was all we could do to find our toothbrushes and PJs and tuck everyone in. (Shadow is still enjoying the company of fellow canine Ginny, and Ginny's people Fran and Rick...Shadow returns to us later today! Talk about troopers...THANK YOU Fran and Rick!!!!!)

This morning, Kate and Elizabeth played air hockey and with the GameCube and are currently riding bikes while Taylor is sleeping in. We will likely head to Busch Gardens (beating the Memorial day crowd) in a little while and then complete our unpacking...and do some laundry!

Special thanks to so many people for accompanying us on this journey. We are so happy to be home!!! Your prayers, emails, phone calls and kindnesses have meant the world to us. Thanks for making this one...easy!


Photo: Touchdown in New York...the moment Elizabeth became an American citizen.

Done. Phew!

Today started out with assurances that nothing could go wrong – so we were quite relaxed and ready for an active day. Then reality set in. Our Kyiv facilitator Yulia got stuck in a THREE HOUR traffic jam this morning, which necessitated Jean and Elizabeth going on their own to the medical center for the exam. As Yulia was carrying necessary documents for the exam, we had to wait for her there. Our 9:00 am medical appointment soon turned in to 10 am, then 10:30….as we anxiously awaited her arrival. With a US Embassy appointment time looming at 11:30, we were sweating the cross-city taxi-dash in a big way. Not to mention that Jim, Taylor and Kate were back at the flat – without a cell phone.

Well, to make a long morning short, we screeched into the Embassy parking lot at 11:29. Yulia then mentioned that since she was stuck in the traffic jam, we did not have a chance to fill out the Embassy forms she had for us at the office. We had to tell the Embassy staff we had not pre-done our paperwork, so we stood in the hallway filling out 30 minutes of forms. We then were asked to wait for a consular officer. It was lunch hour, so we waited til after 1:30. However, the young man was very kind and grinned at us with a big, ol’ American smile plastered across his American face. We figured that not having papers pre-done would hamper our ability to get a same-day visa, but not so, he assured us. The queue for visas today was short! So we were able to leave the Embassy and return at 4:30 pm to get Elizabeth’s visa. YEAH! WAHOO! DONE!

In the time between our Embassy appointment and the visa retrieval, we were able to: sit in a 45 minute traffic jam; have lunch with Karen Springs at McDonalds; meet briefly with the Passanitas at the agency office; get a picture of Elizabeth in front of a large Saint Olga statue; buy a Ukraine flag from a little old babooshka; and fit in a mad dash to the street market at St. Andrew’s. We quickly picked up several items at the first tables we got to: Ukraine T shirts, a hat, a Shevchenko soccer shirt for Elizabeth, and two traditional embroidered blouses for Kate and Elizabeth. (Taylor had benefitted from a previous market-run, so she stood by and watched the other two go crazy.)

We were VERY glad to get back to our flat, cooling in the evening breezes. We have made plans to meet Rob and Laura P for dinner at DeMario (yes – we went there with our friends Sergey and Laurissa last night, but it is right across the street, is good, and has an English menu!) It’s almost time to say “Das-Vi-Dan-Yeh, Oo-kray-ee-na!” See y’all on the flip side. : )

Sunday in Kyiv

With the steadfast and amazing help of Sergey P., we succesfully obtained the court documents from Berdyansk late Thursday. Our last full day there featured an exit meeting with the orphanage director to review Elizabeth’s school records and saying our final goodbyes. For Elizabeth, she seemed to have gotten over the sad emotions of the previous days, and was able to depart with a smile and a wave. The director gave her a cookbook and a box of chocolates. All that she took with her were a few items of clothes, her pink backpack, and her picture albums. In the evening, we had one last dinner at the Hotel Berdyansk, walked home via the waterfront arcade, and turned in early.

Friday morning, we left at 3 am in a van, with us nodding off and the girls sleeping in the back row. At 7:10 am, we pulled in to Zyrubinsk, Elizabeth’s birth town. We watched the town square come to life, with the fish mongers laying out their still- hopping fish and the other vendors setting up their tables. It was a small, poor town. Elizabeth said she remembered living with a younger half sister several years ago.

Sergey worked his magic and obtained a new birth certificate and sent some fax documents off to various places. His work preparing the way for this day payed off, as we were able to quickly hop back in to the van and continue on 30 minutes to Kherson, the regional center. There we finalized Elizabeth’s vital records and were on our way to Zaporizhia by mid-morning. After lunch at a roadside café, we piled back into the van and arrived in the city at 4 pm. We waited outside the passport office building and at 5 pm Sergey emerged to inform us that we would need to spend the night at a hotel and pick up Elizabeth’s Ukrainian passport at 10 am. This was as expected, so we unloaded ourselves in to a nice 2 room suite at the Hotel Ukraine and enjoyed a nice dinner in the restaurant there. Then we caught “Shrek 3” at the movie theater next door. (in Russian of course!)

By the way, we are experiencing an incredible heatwave here! It has been climing steadily into what must be the low 90s. We have “deep-sixed” most of our warm clothes and shoes, and are living in tank tops and shorts!

Saturday, Jean and Sergey arrived at the passport office and picked up the documents without incident, and gave each other a big high-five on the way out. We decided to go to the market to buy some lightweight clothes and also search for a few desired items. The market was astoundingly large, with hundreds of clothing, shoe, and food stalls lining the hill area of the city. We slithered our way through the stifling and tight walkways (about 5 feet between stall and hundreds of people streaming in each direction), found what we wanted and headed out of there.

We checked out of our room at noon, and hung out for a while in a local square. However, it was so hot, we opted to return to the hotel lobby and wait around watching a dvd. We left for our train at 7 pm and said our goodbyes to Sergey. We could not thank him enough for his effective management of this adoption. We offered to host him is he ever decides to visit the USA.

The train ride was just fine, and to our surprise and relief, featured an air conditioned train. We answered the 5 am conductor’s knock, and piled onto the platform in Kyiv an hour later. Our driver wisked us to a nearby flat, a rather spacious 2 bedroom spot just up the street from our favorite restaurant. We are having a relaxing day and will meet our Kyiv friends Sergey and Laurissa, and hopefully Rob and Laura Passanita, there for dinner.

Monday we need to be up early for Elizabeth’s medical exam and then get to the US Embassy for our 11:30 am appointment. We hope to obtain her visa by 5 pm, but have been told that even if we don’t, it should be ready by 8 am. So, we are keeping our Tuesday midday plane tickets and Lord willing, we’ll be home that night!!!!! : ) (9:00 pm, Richmond) Thanks all, for staying tuned, for writing and for praying.

It’s Official

The ten day wait is over and we have picked up the official court decree legally declaring Elizabeth our daughter. We are blessed and thrilled with this addition to our family. Elizabeth is a wonderful child and we are amazed with how natural our family feels. We shouldn't be surprised, but . . .

From this point, our vacation is replaced by a hectic schedule to secure the remaining documents required to bring Elizabeth home.

Tomorrow morning we will leave Berdyansk at 3 in the morning and drive 5 hours to Elizabeth’s birth village to change her birth certificate. We will then proceed to Kherson to register the new birth certificate with the regional officials. Once completed in Kherson, we will drive approximately 5 more hours to reach Zaporizhzhya and attempt to secure Elizabeth’s passport before the close of business. If we are successful, we may take the train to Kyiv Friday night (assuming we can get tickets at the last minute). Otherwise, we have a hotel room reserved in Zaporizhzhya and train tickets for Saturday night.

On Sunday, we are looking forward to a day of visits with friends in Kyiv and attending the circus with the Passanita’s, who are arriving to pursue an adoption of 2 children. Monday will require a medical visit, followed by an appointment at the US Embassy to request a visa. We hope the embassy will be able to turn the visa around on the same day so that we can be on our flight Tuesday morning.

Our last few days have been much of the same mixed with a few sad emotional moments for Elizabeth. On Tuesday, she said good-bye to most of her classmates and roommates and was very tearful when leaving school. She recovered quickly, however, and we had each of the girls sit for a charcoal sketch portrait. The artist was very good and we are looking forward to framing and hanging the portraits.

On Wednesday we took the girls to the market for clothes and then to the sea for swimming. The market was humorous as Taylor & Kate kept complaining that the jeans were too tight. However, the Ukrainians thought it was a perfect fit and they were more than a little perplexed at our girls’ attitude.

Today, Jim looked at more potential properties for a group home and then we all attended a track meet in which Elizabeth was competing. She is a very good athlete and won both of her races. The team also won the overall event. The remainder of the day was spent with visits to the orphanage to say goodbye to a the head teacher and the director. We have has also been packing and preparing for our early a.m. departure.

A Happy Mothers Day

We celebrated Mothers Day on a weekend filled with cloudless skies and warming temperatures. This weekend, we asked the director if we could bring Vika and Yana out with us, and she agreed. On Saturday, we picked up Vika and we all had a fun time together. Elizabeth and Vika started the day by doing homework together, which Elizabeth was anxious to finish. This worked out well as Kate and Taylor are working everyday on school work. They watched a movie together, and then Elizabeth, Vika and Kate dashed over to the beach at the end of the street and went wading, and then swimming, in their clothes! After changing….we all headed out for the afternoon. The girls rode the large ferris wheel nearby and then drove the little cars and played arcade games. We took them out for a nice lunch (featuring more shrimp with heads on). We returned Vika to the orphanage at 6:30. One drawback of the day: the city of Berdyansk shut off the water to the whole town…for the whole weekend “probably” so we purchased many bottles of water and watched the dirty dishes pile up. No one seemed very bothered by this major inconvenience (lack of plumbing), but we thought it was just crazy!

On Sunday, we picked up Vika and Yana and headed out for a pizza lunch. The weather was warm and lovely again, so we packed towels into a bag and went to a beach out on the peninsula. The girls swam, played soccer on the beach and collected shells. We came back to the motel to discover the water turned back on, but rusty! The girls enjoyed showers and then we ventured out to the ferris wheel, little cars and games. We ran into the director on our walk along the promenade. She seemed pleased that they were enjoying a nice day out. We concluded our visit by returning the girls to the orphanage – but they were very sad to part with Elizabeth, as the reality of her leaving is hitting home with them. Amidst tears and hugs, we reluctantly said goodbye, for now. (They will see her at school for the next couple of days though.) We headed out to dinner at a very good restaurant with some of the other American couples, and then hooked up our internet phone at the Hotel Berdyansk for Mothers Day phone calls home.

Elizabeth informed us that she is expected to participate in a track and field event on Thursday, so we asked if we could come to watch. She happily agreed. We have asked permission to keep her out of school on Wednesday morning so that we can take her shopping for shoes at the open air market. Her sneakers are in tatters, so she has been wearing the flip flops we brought for her.

All in all, she is doing really well – she is happy and enjoys kidding around as much as the rest of the crew. She is fond of doing something silly and saying “shootka” (joke!) She is trying out her English skills a little more each day and is growing increasingly more comfortable with the idea that she is part of our family. : )

Berdyansk Musings

Observations from our time in Berdyansk (a city of 200,00 located on the Sea of Azov), a city coming to life in anticipation of the upcoming summer season. Amidst the decaying infrastructure, there is a lot of construction activity and a constant push to improve what is here. There are beautiful modern buildings being built beside tumbled-down hovels; paths lined with blooming tulips, irises and other flowers; fountains being built; nicely cobbled streets and walkways followed by sidewalks that are almost impassable for the potholes and tree root damage. The posh seaside resorts of the OBX-like Berdyansk peninsula coexist with the monotonous grey soviet-era apartment buildings. As with much of Ukraine, the dichotomy of the physical surroundings reflects the pride and weariness of its people. We see many young men hanging out in groups throughout the city, not threatening, but always present, usually with beer bottles open, no matter the time of day. Babooshkas out sweeping the roads with twig brooms, dogs and cats running loose everywhere, and everyone talking on a cell phone. The young ladies showing off their shapely legs in the shortest possible skirts, the tightest pants, skittering along in the highest heels imagineable. An “apteka” (drug store) or bank on every street, along with the countless small kiosks hawking every type of beverage and candy. The fishermen out in their rafts (not boats) catching small ugly black fish, seen later being dried, hanging from windows and available at the local street market, or “riynak.” Watch your step – the drivers swerve and pass with maddening regularity, dodge pothols and imperil the lives of pedestrians everywhere!

At our motel with no name, the gentlemen who manage the establishment are always present in the lobby area outside our room door. They lock and unlock the street gate for us after our daily comings and goings. The maid accepts 5 grivnah to clean our room (about 1 dollar) and though we have tried to give her more, she will not accept a tip. The rooms are swept out, as there does not appear to be a vacuum on the premises. Our 2-room suite is very comfortable and quite reasonable at $36 per night, with a small fridge, 2 TVs, a sofa that pulls out to accomodate the 3 girls, and a sitting area in the bedroom. Tomorrow we will attempt a BBQ on the back patio. The motel is one lot back from the water’s edge. We walk beside the sea wall during our daily excursions into town, and often get a drenching of sea spray. There is a medium-sized food store nearby that supplies our daily breakfast and snack foods. We eat a late lunch out, usually at the Hotel Berdyansk, which appears to be the only non-smoking restaurant in town with an English menu. Dinnertime finds us either munching left-overs or at one of the restaurants close to the motel. The people who run these establishments have come to know us and welcome us with a smile, and a babbling stream of Russian words…we say “Spi-cee-ba” (thank you) and sit down.

We have really enjoyed sampling the numerous simple salads on every menu…fresh veggies and chunks of chicken, meat or fruit and nuts, usually mixed with herbs and mayo. Jim has gone running a few times, and the daily long walks are helping to keep us from adding the pounds (maybe). (Sorry Heather…our exercise plan is under-utilized!) We have fallen prey to the daily habit of eating some nice torte with our afternoon tea, and the desserts abound. Ukraine offers some terrific candies and delicious sweets, and we willing to try all of them.

Our routine remains pretty constant. School in the morning, Kate & Taylor at the hotel and Elizabeth at the orphanage. Once we pick up Elizabeth, we have a late lunch, followed by some activity, a walk back to the hotel (usually stopping at a small outdoor arcade for a game) and then a snack and movie before turning in. Here are a couple of photos Elizabeth took at the zoo. She appears to have Jean's prowess with a camera!!

Court Approval

Our appointment at court began promptly at 9 and after a ½ hour hearing the judge approved our petition to adopt Elizabeth Olga Henry. Бог Похвалы! Thank you to everyone who has prayed with us and for us during this journey.

The hearing was very routine. The judge presided with a court clerk, two jurors, and the prosecutor. In addition to us and our facilitator, the lawyer from the orphanage and the inspector, representing the Berdyansk city council, were present to provide testimony. The preceding began with the judge taking down the name, birthdate, address, & purpose for appearing before the court for each person testifying. She then read aloud our petition to adopt Elizabeth and asked if that is why we were before the court. She then questioned each of us about when we were married, existing children, & employment status. She asked how we knew Elizabeth and we described how she spent time with us in America and the communication we have had with her since that time. The lawyer from the orphanage was then asked to testify about Elizabeth. She read from Elizabeth’s file about the circumstances leading to her arrival at the orphanage. She testified that during Elizabeth’s 4 years there, she had not been visited by any family members. She then testified about Elizabeth meeting us in America and our frequent communications with Elizabeth. Finally, she testified that the orphanage supported the adoption in the best interest of Elizabeth. Next the inspector was asked to testify and she stated the city had received our petition, which was in order, and that Elizabeth’s paperwork was in order. Given that no Ukrainian citizen indicated a desire to adopt Elizabeth and all the necessary papers were correct, the city had no objection. Lastly, Taylor, Kate, & Elizabeth were individually asked to join the proceedings and each was asked if they knew each other, liked each other, wanted to be sisters, etc. Elizabeth was also asked about contact with her mother and she explained that her mother wrote her a couple of times in the first few months, but that she had stopped writing. Asked if she had ever been visited by family members, she stated no. She was asked if she wanted to be adopted by us (she said yes) and the judge admonished her that she would have to listen to us and obey us and she said she understood. Everyone was asked to leave and 5 minutes later the judge reopened court to read the decree. The court has approved our adoption of Elizabeth, pending a 10 day waiting period, during which time appeals to the decision can be filed at court. So, we will have an official decree in our hands on the morning of the 18th and will then rush through the remainder of the process.

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. We returned to the hotel and met up with Lena. We shared our news with her and enjoyed a very nice 2nd breakfast prepared by all hands. We then proceeded to take her to the train station and said our farewells. It was very emotional and sad for her to leave, but we made promises about seeing her again – hopefully in America! Elizabeth and Lena really bonded well, and were sad to say goodbye. Lena made a gift of a her coat to Elizabeth, which was very touching. Kate and Lena hugged for a long time before Lena stepped on to the train.

We then proceeded to the notary and completed a petition to request a passport for Elizabeth. There was a lot of waiting time at the notary, but we enjoyed a nice conversation with the Stacks and the Sabbatinis, who were also having petitions prepared. Surprisingly, we have not seen the other families in Berdyansk very often. This is partly due to staying in different hotels, and also partly due to the relatively little time we have spent at the orphanage.

Our next item for the day was a trip to the orphanage to, finally, give gifts to the children we had been entrusted with. When we got there, the director was in a meeting and we passed the time by playing 3 very long hands of Uno. Eventually the meeting broke up and we were able to meet with the director and see the children and give them the gifts. All of them were very happy to receive the items and to hear news about the people who had sent them. We visited with Vika, Erin’s friend Natasha, Yana and Marina.

We briefly returned to our hotel in order to tidy up before going out for a celebratory dinner at a waterfront restaurant. It was a great restaurant for our dinner. It was very tastefully decorated with a live band playing a mixture of jazz and classic American tunes. It was a very pleasant change of pace from the techno-disco beat usually accompanying every activity. Elizabeth enjoyed a nice candlelite meal comprising a salad of quail’s eggs, boiled tongue, cucumber, and corn followed by a plate of shrimp and a chocolate dessert. Prior to dinner arriving, we presented her with a gift of a gold chain and cross to commemorate the day. (She was concerned about the shrimp however, as 6 large creatures arrived on the plate with heads attached and eyes staring at her…she said her dinner scared her a bit. Jim took care of that however, expertly peeling them, and she seemed to enjoy the treat.)

After a long and emotional day, we returned to the hotel and everyone was very happy to get to sleep!

Today - Tuesday has been a slow day for us thus far. All except Elizabeth, who unfortunately is still required to attend school at the orphanage. We are very thankful that she is allowed to stay with us except for school. But, we wonder how difficult this will be for her during the next 10 days as she is caught between her past and her future.

Court on Monday

We received the required signature from the SDA yesterday and our court appointment has been set for 9 a.m. on Monday. We are very excited to get to court and we pray for a smooth hearing. If all goes well, we will remain on track to catch our scheduled flight on the 22nd.

Last night, Lena surprised us by presenting us with a salad she had made for dinner. It was extremely tasty and she was very proud of it. She also brought along a can of condensed milk and was surprised to learn that we had it available in America. We were surprised to learn what a treat it is. Elizabeth and Lena spooned it directly into their mouths, spread it on bread, and used it as a sweetener and creamer in their tea and coffee. In no time at all, the entire can was consumed. For those who recently adopted, it may worth trying at home as a treat for the kids.

Sergey returned from his work in Odessa this morning and we had a very nice discussions at breakfast with Lena and Elizabeth. Sergey explained to Elizabeth what to expect in court on Monday and gave her an overview of the remaining steps before we can leave. She is anxious to move on and get to America.

We also spent a great deal of time with Lena urging her to consider a visit to our home. Initially she was skeptical that it could occur, but we informed her of the process and the likelihood that she would be able to qualify for a visa and she is now eager to travel to America.

We took a ride to the end of the Berdyansk peninsula in a taxi. The very end was marshy and quite scenic, with a nice little lighthouse. The causeway was lined with very nice resort hotels and homes (and the occasional goat.) We played soccer on the beach and dipped our toes in the chilly water. It reminded us quite a bit of the Outer Banks – except we saw the Sea of Azov, rather than the Atlantic) on both sides of the narrow strip of land.

This evening we will walk to the Hotel Berdyansk for dinner (a 20 minute walk) and use the internet café there. All in all, we are having a very good time, enjoying what there is to see in Berdyansk, and thankful for the time together. (We are NOT going hungry…the food has been great and we have eaten way too much of it!)

Kentucky Derby selection: Any Given Saturday – colt has excellent tactical speed and the pedigree to go the 1¼ mile distance and is the best value in the race. Wish we could watch it live, but will have to rely on an internet replay.

Enjoying Berdyansk

We did not receive the required signature from the SDA yesterday, so our earliest court date is now Monday, May 7th, assuming we receive the signature today (which is expected!). Surprisingly, we are neither anxious nor frustrated with the delay. We are surprised out how little time we have spent on adoption activities. To date, we have had 4 meetings lasting less than 2 hours total. It reminds us of the old hockey games, when some would say that you went to a fight hoping a hockey game broke out. For us, we are enjoying our vacation together in Berdyansk and expect that an adoption will occur at some point.

We continue our daily routine with one variation. Elizabeth had to return to school yesterday, so we bring her to the orphanage around 7:45 in the morning and pick her up at 2:30 in the afternoon. Other than her time at school, she is allowed to spend all of her time with us. This, of course, pleases all of us. We are having a great time together and the family dynamics are working out beautifully. Elizabeth had a stretch of about 4 hours on Sunday when she was in a mood, but she worked her way out of it and that has been only setback with her.

Time with Extended Family

Our papers remain in Kyiv and we continue to await a signature from the SDA that will allow us to proceed. We hope that the documents will be returned via train by Friday morning so that we can get to court. Sergey left us this morning to finish an adoption in Odessa, but will return Saturday morning. He gave us the numbers of some other translators so we should be “covered”.

We expected to return Elizabeth to the orphanage on Monday morning for school, but when we arrived the director gave us permission to keep her until Thursday morning. The director also postponed our meeting with the other children and gift giving until Friday.

Kate’s half-brother, Sasha, and half-sister, Lena, arrived by train on Sunday afternoon. There was a joyful reunion at the station. They came loaded with bags of huge stuffed animals, candy, clothes and other gifts, which they presented immediately upon arrival. They look great – much the same.

With Sergey in the room, we spent a couple of hours talking and catching up, looking at photos…and realizing that Kate wasn’t understanding any of the Russian. Even though we have prepared Lena for this on the phone, it was still very, very difficult for her to realize that Kate does not understand her. That evening, we went out to dinner nearby (at a pizza/disco with a really loud live singer), and spent time in each other’s rooms. Kate was invited to stay with them in their room next door, which we said was OK. She started out there, but was back in a half an hour, in tears, when she realized too that she could not understand what they were saying to her. This was upsetting for everyone. The next morning it was much the same – we had a quiet breakfast in the lobby area (food provided by us…Jean’s been having fun shopping at the local markets). Jean gave a Russian/English book to Lena and asked her to help Kate learn some more Russian words, which gradually got her into the spirit.

After many beautiful days the weather turned very cold and rainy. The rainy weather didn’t help – it would have been better to be able to go outside an kick a soccer ball around than sit around not talking to each other! We brought lots of quiet indoor activities (beads for making bracelets, a large puzzle, Uno, drawing papers and pencils and paint…plus Lena is an amazing finger nail polish artist) so we have had plenty to keep us busy. We also watch the DVDs – some we brought and some we have purchased since arrival. Lena will be with us possibly 8-10 days…not sure of her departure date yet.

Getting past the communication gap was the hard part. Sergey can only be with us some of the time, so there have been a lot of charades. Lena speaks fast, so Jean is having a hard time, but is slowly picking up a few more words and phrases and can help a little. Sasha returned to Kharkiv on Tuesday afternoon after we all spent a fun morning out walking in the crowded waterfront park area (May 1 is the big May Day holiday – celebrating all workers – Labor Day). Kate and Lena held hands and walked along. The girls and Lena rode the mini cars and laughed. Lena and Elizabeth have started chatting, so that appears to be a good thing. All in all, things have settled down and we are all enjoying each other’s company very much.

Next Step . . . Court . . . but When?

Our paperwork is complete and was turned in to the SDA in Kyiv on Friday. They have up to 5 business days to process and return to us. Once we have the documents back, we will have our court hearing the next business day. Sergey has scheduled a court hearing for May 3rd, but that appears to be impossible at this point. Because of the holidays, our court hearing will probably be on May 4th, 7th, or 11th. We have appealed to the SDA to process our paperwork so that we can be at court on the 4th since either of the other two dates will require us to change our return flight, which is scheduled for May 22nd. We have been warned by another family that return flights on Delta are sold out through the end of May, so are anxious to avoid any change to our tickets.

Elizabeth has been with us consistently since Wednesday and we are having a great time as a family. The girls are bonding and enjoying each others company. We are all ready to complete the adoption and return home, particularly Elizabeth. She was very displeased to learn that we still had 2 or 3 weeks left before we would leave Berdyansk. She is diligently working on English and corrects us to say “Elizabeth” when we call her “Olya”.

We continue with our routine, which includes schoolwork in morning, lunch, walking around town, dinner, and then a DVD in the room. However, later today, Kate’s sister, brother, and niece arrive so we will have some new variables to factor into our days. We are nervous about how our visit will be with them, particularly for Kate, the language barrier, and their interaction with Elizabeth.

We have spent very little time at the orphanage (and almost entirely without a translator) and have only seen a couple of the kids in passing. We went Saturday to give gifts that we have carried to Marina, Yana, Natasha, & Vika, but the director telephoned and requested we wait until she was there on Monday. All of the girls look fine and inquire about people in America. On Monday we plan to meet with each of them, give them the gifts and answer their questions.

Settling In

We are having a fantastic time while we enjoy some very pleasant family time together as we settle into a routine. We are not stressed at all by the adoption as Sergey competently navigates through the process. The issues that have occurred only impact the timeframe and Sergey has managed to minimize the effect of each little bombshell.

After posting our blog yesterday, we went to the orphanage to visit with Elizabeth. Initially we were the only visitors but, over the course of the next few hours, the orphanage became a very busy place. There is an Italian couple and 3 other American couples from North Carolina in Berdyansk to adopt children. By late afternoon, all 5 couples were at the orphanage conducting business with the Director or visiting with the children. Elizabeth showed Jean her photos on the walls – she is pictured as a top student in her grade and as a member of the orphanage track and field and soccer teams.

Jean spent most of the time with Elizabeth by working on teaching her English (looking at animal and science books and writing the words in both Russian and English.) Jim, Kate and Taylor were engaged in multiple hands of Uno. At one point, Elizabeth was summoned into the office and when she returned to us, asked if she could go to her room and get her pajamas. We were very pleased to hear that the Director had given her permission to come and spend the night at the hotel with us. After a while, our facilitator arrived and he confirmed we could take Elizabeth for the night. We proceeded to go out to dinner and then returned to the hotel and watched a movie before turning in for the night.

This morning we awoke and had breakfast and then began school work. Jim worked with Kate and Taylor on math, while Jean spent about an hour and a half working on phonics and word puzzles with Elizabeth. She did amazingly well with pronunciation and reading. Jim then stepped in and did some math with Elizabeth, to gauge where she is at grade-wise. They use different mathematical operator symbols here, so it took a while to figure things out, but she tenaciously worked through the problems that Jim gave her. She was doing math on the level with Taylor (grade 6), albeit slowly, but that was a good sign!

Midday we switched rooms – the upstairs room had a delightful balcony and view of the sea, but was a little too small. The afternoon will include a visit to the billiard room here at the motel, lunch out somewhere (probably Hotel Berdyansk again!) and then a trip back to the orphanage. Kate’s half-sister Lena called this morning to discuss her upcoming visit – Jean took the call without the assistance of a translator – an interesing call! But, on a good note, Lena said that she could understand what was being said (mostly)! We expect her this weekend by train, perhaps with her 4 year-old daughter Vika and Kate’s half brother, Sasha. Should be an interesting time for all!

Wait … Wait … RUSH!

Adoption in Ukraine is mostly a game of waiting around and then rushing around. We waited for our second SDA appointment on Monday by staying at our friend’s home. They were incredibly gracious hosts and we cannot thank them enough for their hospitality. We enjoyed our conversations with them, particularly learning more about Ukraine’s history and culture.

Our 2 p.m. appointment on Monday occurred without a hitch. We spent 5 minutes with the psychologist and were informed that our referral would be ready that afternoon. During this conversation, we were provided a little more detail into Olya’s past. Tickets had been secured for a 5:50 train, so we returned to gather our bags and make our way to the train. While we waiting on the train to depart, Yulia, our Kyiv manager, brought us the referral documents.

Following the 11½ hour train and 1½ hour taxi ride, we arrived in Berdyansk at 7 a.m. (We pushed the limit of how many people and bags could fit in a car…our friendly driver Vova met us at the station – but his trunk is 2/3 full with a propane tank – the alternate fuel system.) Fortunately, we were able to check into the hotel at that hour and we began to settle in while Sergey, our facilitator, went to work to garner the signatures required that would allow us to go to the orphanage and visit with Olya. It was initially thought this would take a couple of hours.

Finally at 4:30 pm, we received word that our documents were signed and we would be able to visit Olya. She was waiting for us in the director’s office…it was joyful re-union! It was so wonderful to see her, and all three girls together at last. With the local inspector looking over her shoulder, she quickly completed the document in which she requests permission for the court to permit her adoption by us, and to change her name: Elizabeth Olga Henry it is! The director and doctor gave us her background information and also informed us that she is confined to the infirmary for a few days while she gets over bronchitis. So, that means we cannot take her outside at all, but we will be allowed to do so soon. She is in very good spirits and is more than ready to join our family. We left her after a couple of hours, and then went food shopping.

Our motel is very nice (only drawback is the lack of nearby internet access) and is well situated – our room has a great view of the sea (over the roof of the hovel next door), and the weather is warming up. Today (Wednesday) Kate and Taylor did school work on our little balcony. We feel a lot more settled now that we have installed ourselves here. After a short cab ride and lunch downtown, we will return to the orphanage for a few hours with Olya.

Their have been some challenges with gathering the documents, but Sergey is doing a great job running down the issues. The biggest difficulty is that key officials are on vacation and that major national holidays are looming. Beginning next week, there are roughly 10 days of holidays. From April 29 through May 11th, government offices, banks, etc. will be closed with the exception of a couple of days, but even those work days are not fully defined as of now. It seems that holidays such as May day or Victory day require a couple of days pre- and post to celebrate. Some have suggested to us that the additional days are required as a form of “recovery”. Sergey is working diligently to manage around these holidays and in his best case scenario is hoping for a court date on May 3 or 4. Unfortunately, a key document from the SDA was not provided and Sergey is currently working to determine a way to proceed while they resolve that issue. This is the same document that went missing during our adoption of Kate – we hope for a quicker resolution of the issue this time around!

We have seen many people here! We saw Sharon Liddle in Kyiv, after she left Deb and Dale Richards in Kharkiv. We met the Stack family in Kyiv, and just saw them briefly here in Berdyansk along with the Sabatini family and someone else – possibly Romy from VA Beach. (We spied them from our balcony – we think they were checking out our motel and believe they will return to check in later today.) More families are here – the Hustons and others, and we’re sure our paths will cross. It’s nice to have the company!

Kate and Taylor wished to especially pass along their greetings to all, and are looking forward to writing a blog entry soon themselves. Kate is currently writing a book (!) and Taylor has finished reading all (10-12) of her books …so now she is re-reading them! Between school work, visiting Olya, and running around Berdyansk – we are keeping very busy!

Weekend . . . . Kyiv

We had our appointment at the SDA at 2 as planned. We waited on the stairs while they searched for Olga's file. At first they came back and said that they could not locate it. Then they came back and said - Sorry! She's not even in our database - and is not registered. A few minutes later, the assistant director appeared and said that she HAD located Olga's files -- but that she was not available for adoption until this weekend, so we could not stay for our appointment - we must come back on Monday. Ok then - "slight mistake." We are disappointed by the delay, but considering the disaster we seemed to be on the brink of...we'll take it. We will find out tomorrow when our appointment is on Monday.

So we are headed back to our friend's house (thank goodness for them!) for a couple more days. Then we will likely return to Kyiv for the weekend and perhaps do some site seeing. Kate didn't get to see any of the famous places last time -- we left so quickly! We did get to see some of the demonstrations today -- very organized and peaceful, and some good music too! (They play it very loudly in Independence Square between speakers.)

Quick Update

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families who have been impacted by the tragedy at Virginia Tech. We pray that the college students from our community are safe.

Our travels went without incident and we have spent a wonderful day with our very generous and hospitable friends in their home. Our appointment at the SDA is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Thursday. We will provide more details and photos in our next update.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers!

We're Off!

Our journey has begun! We packed up a rental car and are on our way to JFK. We elected to drive to JFK and not risk a canceled Richmond to JFK flight due to the ongoing storm. Tomorrow we will continue our drive to JFK and be on our way to Kiev. We look forward to our arrival in Kiev on Tuesday.

We depart with high expectations for many adventures and great confidence in the outcome. In addition to our adoption of Elizabeth, we have the following highlights scheduled during our trip.

1. Upon our arrival in Kyiv, we will be staying at the home of our Ukrainian friends Laurissa & Sergey. We are looking forward to catching up with them, exploring their newly built home, playing with their 4 year old daughter Marianna, meeting their sheep dog Gera (who is advertised to have "a temper of sofa pillow"), and enjoying the incredible hospitality of these friends.
2. Kate's brother and sister (Sasha & Lena) will both be traveling from Kharkiv to Berdyansk to visit with us during our time there. Lena will be with us for about 10 days, while Sasha will be with us for a couple of days before he needs to return to work. We have remained in contact with them since Kate's adoption and everyone is looking forward to the visit with each other.
3. Explore real estate properties in Berdyansk for potential purchase by Heart for Orphans in order to provide a group home for children graduating out of the orphanage.

We have the following prayer requests:
Safe travels.
Good fellowship with our friends in Kiev.
Kate's return to Ukraine and visits with her sister and brother.
Our referral to Berdyansk to be provided to us on the day of our appointment, the 19th.

Бог Похвалы! (Praise God!)

Olya at the Wishing
Chair in Berdyansk, October

We received our appointment date (April 19th) and we are very excited to be in the final stages of welcoming Elizabeth home. Elizabeth's bedroom is nearly redone and our travel plans are complete. Just a few more days and we will be on our way. Бог Похвалы!

We began this very unexpected journey in Dec. 2005 when Olya (Olga's nickname -- she has asked to have her name changed to Elizabeth) was a guest at our house. We entered the hosting arrangement with no thoughts of another adoption, but God had a different plan for us.

After much prayer and family discussion, we decided to begin the process of adopting Olya. We were very, very fortunate to be joined in this pursuit by 6 other families answering God's call to adopt. We came together through informal gatherings and quickly grew into a community. A community of fellowship, prayer, encouragement and friendship.

Without them this journey would have been exceedingly difficult and painful and we thank each one of them for their support and prayers. What a blessing this journey has already been for us. Бог Похвалы! Thank you!!