Russ' Post

Russ wrote today's post with his reflections:
As I lay here listening to the systematic clunk, clunk, clunk of the train wheels traveling from Krivyi Rig of the Dniproppetrovsk Region back to the capital city of Kiev, and i feel the gentle sway and jerking my mind is still back at the orphanage and there is a hollow spot in my heart. No, it's not for Ana, but for the other children there that we met. Ana has found her long awaited mama and papa and we have grown to love her very much (I never though I could love another child like my own flesh and blood, I am finding I was wrong). I can't help thinking of what fate lies in wait for these other precious children. Will they find a mama and papa, grow up to be successful or will they be not as fortunate. After two weeks of many thoughts I've come to one conclusion. These children just want to belong, be loved and be needed and need attention. This trip has taught me much and has been very humbling. We are so blessed in our land of milk and honey with so many oppertunities and we don't even realize it! We think we express thankfulness in our everyday lives, but still we murmur, gossip, grumble and are unsatisfied (To think I was grumbling about missing some of my beloved turkey hunting season just a few short weeks ago.....I am ashamed). If you may be guilty of any of these or maybe life just not getting it done for you, I have good news for you, it won't take much time from our so busy lives (abou 3 weeks) and it won't cost much (an airplane ticket about $1000, a train ticket $50, the food is cheap and so is the taxi service) and the smiles are FREE! Well clunk, clunk, clunk my mind shifts to another far away land, home. A place where 5 beautiful children, 3 beautiful daughter-in-laws, and seven almost eight gorgeous grandbabies and many wonderful friends and relatives that I miss deeply are waiting. I Am SOOOOO blessed and have gained and learned much. Thank you Lord! Clunk clunk, clunk guess it's time to clean up the soggy tissues and focus on home with so much anticipation. I'll sign off the way a little girl with deep blue eyes and an infectious smile and a new horizon ahead would.....Chow!

Saying Good Bye

Saying good-bye was an emotional time. Our hearts are heavy for all the children who do not have a family. All the girls from Ana's group spent the day with us today. We made flowers, played Twister, played card games of concentration, practiced English, had snacks, took pictures with everyone and shared lots of hugs and kisses. Everyone wants to give us a gift from what very little they have as a rememberance of them. Something as simple as a compliment or a hug shared at one time has won us sweet friends that we will long remember and pray for. Four girls are missing from the group photo because they are in America on the hosting program, but the rest are present, this is Ana's family in the Ukraine. Russ wants to bring them all home. He is sad to say godd bye forever I will get to visit again 10 days after returning home. Ana was fine with us leaving she marked the calendar for when "sister" and mama will return to get her and also when she will leave for America. She realizes this is part of the process and she will count the days until she can come home to her new family in America. She is so full of joy and loves being the center of her groups attention. She is so happy, she finally has a forever family. Some of the girls in the group were crying as we left, but Ana was all smiles as we left to prepare to bring her home to America. The teacher and group of girls are planning a concert and party for when we return. I am going to bring pizza, Ana has never tried pizza and there is a great pizza shop not far from where we stay. I also want to get cross necklaces in America to bring back for the girls in Ana's group. The girls who are visiting America as part of the hosting program will return the day before Heather and I leave to come back, perfect timing, they can share all about America with Ana and help to calm any of her worries about the unknown. I know she is going to love her new life. God has blessed us so tremendously to choose us to be her parents.

Bittersweet

In a about an hour we will be going to the orphanage to see Ana for the last time before traveling home. I miss home and all of my family so much and can't wait to see them all, but it is sad to leave the other part of our family Ana behind. It will take a second trip May 11 to bring her home and 17 more days here to get everything we need to bring her home even though she is legally our daughter now. Russ says he will miss all the other little girls in her group when we leave it will be the last time he sees any of them since Heather will be making the second trip to the Ukraine with me. He said he better be careful or he will be running a girl's home at our house and spending a couple years in the Ukraine to adopt girls. I told him it's good he has only had the chance to mainly interact with Ana's group and not all the other children, since there are 60 children here that are waiting for Mama's and Papa's to adopt them. Sixty would be to many for us to handle. LOL
I keep thinking of the history they read about Ana's life in court yesterday, I can't imagine the hurt and rejection her past has been. When the judge gave the decision that she was ours I think for the first time she actually began to realize that we were not going to walk away like everyone else has in her life not wanting her. I can't imagine why or how anyone could not want such a precious little girl. Syvette said God has been saving her for us, her perfect family. It is a great celebration at the orphanage when someone is adopted, because EVERY CHILD'S DREAM is to someday have a mama and papa to love and want them. Great news for the two sisters being hosted in America. The missionary Bible teacher here at the orphanage told us yesterday that a Christian couple here in the Ukraine that she has known for sometime are adopting them. Praise God! She ask that we all join her in praying that all the children will find Christian families to want and adoopt them. She is a sweet lady who comes every week to teach the children a Bible lesson and to introduce them to a relationship with Jesus Christ. The lady in today's picture is a very special lady who works fulltime at the orphanage with Ana's group. She loves and cares for the girls very much. She is so happy for Ana to get a family.

Big Day

Today was court!
EVERYTHING WENT GREAT! The court accepted our petition to adopt Anastasiya. Present in court were the judge (a very nice lady), two jurers, a prosecuter, a court secretary, orphanage director, SDA director, Syvette, Russ, Ana and I. It was a formal hearing, but the process was not difficult. Syvette had prepared us well for what questions would be asked. The prosecutor did not ask any questions, even though Syvette said that he may (this was unusual she said)Ana did so very well when it was her turn. She stood bravely and answered all the questions with confidance. The orphanage director was very supportive and shared many positive compliments for us. Syvette translated everything for us. After the proceedings court adjourned for ten minutes for the judge to reach a decision. Upon return to court and after giving her formal decision that permission was granted by the court for us to adopt Ana, she came down from the bench and presented gifts to Russ, Ana and I and hugged us with tears of emotion in her eyes. Russ recieved a embroidered cloth with Ukrainian national colors to represent love and pain in life, Ana received a CD of Ukrainian music and a Ukrainian doll for remembrance of her culture, I was given a large handmade vase and fresh cut red tulips. In the Ukraine mothers with many children are highly respected and thought to be heroes, so in Ukrainian culture I am this LOL. After court we took Ana to McDonalds to celebrate. We stopped to get passport pictures taken and then to a notary to get Ana's passport documents started. When we returned to the orphanage there was a group of missionaries from Canada visiting for the week that were there. A tea party was being served by the girls in Ana's group and Russ, Ana and I were the guests of honor in celebration of the court appearance and Ana's adoption. Afterwards the children were sent outdoors with the missionaries to play and the teacher from the orphanage presented us with a dinner and toasts. The dinner was from the orphanage menu and it is Ukrainian custom to toast 3 times. Everyone at the orphanage is very happy for Ana, the people who work there are very kind. Ana was very tired from the events of her big day, but she still followed us to the gate of the orphanage and stood waving as we pulled away in the car. She understands that tomorrow is the last day that she will see us before we travel home to prepare for coming to the United States. Today was an exciting and exhausting day. We got our return date, May 11. To our disappointment we will be here until May 28. I was thinking 7 to 10 days not 17 more days when we return. Russ will not be making the second trip, he has lots of work to catch up on at home and Heather is very anxious to have the opportunity to come to the Ukraine to learn about and see her new sister's culture first hand. Ana is excited that Heather will be coming to see her. Airline tickets are already booked for the return trip. Tomorrow we will visit Ana for the last time before returning home and then we will take the overnight train back to Kiev tomorrow night.

Count Down

Syvette called this morning to inform us she received the final document of approval from the SDA in Kiev, so we are all set to go to court tomorrow at noon. Syvette will return on the train tonight to meet us in the morning to prepare for court. Then we will go to the orphanage to pick up Ana. We are all set to go! Ana seems very happy when we visit. WE have been practicing English words on flash cards, writing her name in English Ana Walk (everyone calls her Nostya here at the orphanage including us, she has agreed to the name Ana as her American name when we get to America short for Anastasiya). Her favorite activity the past few days is playing concentration with I Spy cards. She giggles and laughs and roots against Papa, he hams it up for her and she loves it. She giggles all over. When she wins she is so excited, when he losses he pretends to be pouting, she took his picture after he lost she laughs so hard when she looks at it. Today she got to talk to brother Isaac on the cell phone for the first time. She was shy at first about talking to him and wasn't going to talk to him, but when she heard his voice she lit up and giggled out loud, she loved it! She talked to sister also (her name for Heather since she cannot yet pronounce her name). Before she hung up she said without any help or prompting, "I love you sister." Heather said she was crying at that point. Both brother and sister think she sounds so sweet and of course she is, we can't wait for them to actually meet her. I wish we could bring her home now instead of the ten day wait and then another trip back to the Ukraine.

Circus

Today we went to the circus. I am not sure how but we forgot to take our camera. Ana really enjoyed the circus and we went to McDonalds afterwards. We are learning little bits at a time what she likes: french fries, ice cream, kettle corn, coca cola were todays favorites. She doesn't like milk shakes and hamburgers are definately not her choice when their are french fries. We will not be going back to the orphanage today, our driver Andre is preparing to drive the children who are traveling to the USA on the hosting program to Kiev tonight so they can fly out early in the morning. They cannot take the train as the usual mode of transportation, because they will not get there in time for their early flight.

Exhausted

I am very tired. Each day when I go to the orphanage it is like a rollar coaster of emotions. I love spending time with Ana and getting to know her more, I anxiously await the day we bring her home. BUT my heart breaks for all the children we will leave behind. I wish I could bring them all home. Emotionally it tires me out. I watch them from afar, play with them, hug them interact with them and think oh this little guy or girl would be so perfect with ..... family. I can see the children happily apart of families at home. I miss everyone at home so much especially my kids and grandbabies!!! Today I will post some pictures of the other children here. We try to do crafts and play games with the children each day. We also try to take snacks for Ana's group at least every other day and something everyday for her. She really likes blueberry yogurt, snack cakes, juice boxes, kiwi and fruit snacks. She says she likes ice cream so we are hoping to get some when we take her to the circus. Today we took the movie Sleeping Beauty (in Russian of course) and watched it with the girls. Tommorrow is circus day. We even managed withn the help of Inna and some of the other girls to let Ana know tomorrow we will be picking her up at eleven to go to the circus with us. Our translator, Syvette, has been in Kiev for the past several days so we are being creative about communication. It is good for us, we will understand how Ana feels when she gets to America. We have done well we can even succesfully go to the market and shop by ourselves and actually know what we are buying most of the time. LOL

Ana and One of the Girls Traveling To USA Monday

Insites

The more time we spend with Ana the more we realize what a sweet child she is. She loves all the little girl things like kittens, puppies, Disney Princesses, dolls etc. But when she is with the girls in her group who are all older than her she not show this side of herself instead she tries to blend with them and be older. There is a little girl inside waiting to experience all the little girl things in life that her own childhood missed. We look forward to the opprtunity to bring her home to America and provide the opportunity for her to experience being a little girl in a safe loving environment. We have to go for now. Since it is Saturday we can go to the orphanage a second time today. We will write more later.

Count Down

Today's blog is going to be short, Russ & I are tired this evening. Our Interpol clearances were missing, but with some help from Sasha and Syvette in Kiev today they were able to track them down. Seems all our paperwork is in order we are just waiting for one more document from the SDA in Kiev. Everything seems on track to go to court Wednesday as scheduled. God has been watching over us throughout our time here. Thank you for all the prayers, they are definately making a diffence for us. Today we spent time playing games with the girls using flashcards we made to teach them some English. Many of the girls are eager to learn English. Inna and the two sisters who are being hosted know some English and are eager to learn more, they will all learn English fairly quickly. We are learning alot about the culture and the life Ana has here by observing her and the girls. Also discovering some of the things Ana will need help with as far as learning. All the children had fun posing for pictures since Ana kept the camera overnight. They had a photo shoot that lasted until they exhausted the battery. LOL The girls who are coming to American on the hosting program recieved a new outfit to wear when they go from one of their teachers, they were trying them on when we were there. Tomorrow we will get to visit the orphanage twice since it is a Saturday and then Sunday we have permission to take Ana to the circus. We REALLY miss everyone at home so much!!!!

Learning English

Many of the children here are eager to learn English, each day we spend some time teaching them with English/Russian picture books. Anastasiya is not as interested as some of the other children, we are working on that. Today the judge told Syvette that we have a court date for Wednesday, 28th at noon. God is so good! We were praying for Wednesday so we could fly home Friday. That is the earliest possible date we could recieve because Ukranian law states that their must be a minimum of 7 days between the local SDA document submission and court, Wed. is exactly 7 days. Syvette is still in Kiev filing paperwork. She is a very busy lady. She is helping organize the children's trip to America also. Today she called us and said everything was set for Wednesday except....she does not have our Interpol clearances, she will be going to the SDA in Kiev tomorrow to try to locate them. Pray that she is able to get them or we cannot go to court Wed. I am not worried, God will go before us, I am sure He will have everything in order. We filled the Interpol applications out and sent them with our original documents. WE took some really adorable pitures of Anastasiya today in a GAP outfit we brought for her from home. She was so precious, her face lit up all over when we gave it to her. She couldn't wait to put it on and she just beamed once she had it on. Heather the clothes we bought for her or should I say the wardrobe we have for her at home will fit perfectly. She is size 8 or small 10 and shoe size 2 1/2. That may be dangerous to tell Heather she will be on a shopping spree. LOL We can't post any of the pictures in her new outfit, she batted her big blue eyes at Papa and pleaded to keep the camera at the orphanage to take pictures with all her friends so he left her keep it so now we don't have todays pictures. She knows just how to get what she wants with Papa. Russie, Ryan, Heath, Heather and Isaac you better sit down before you read the next sentence....Papa and Mama have a role reversal going on, Mama is the disciplinarian and Papa gives in to everything Ana wants!

Note To Those Coming

For those of you who come here after us: most importantly trust Sasha, Syvette and the people who work with them to guide you each step of the process. They know what they are doing and you can have conifidence in them to steer you cortrectly. Before coming learn a few Russian words it will make things easier (forget electronic translators the accent is different and cannot be understood by the people here), bring pictures of home and your family, bring your laptop it is yoour connection to the world (you have internet access, if you set up Skype at home before coming you can call home to your families landline, cell phone or computer), also bring some DVDs to watch the days get long as you wait to visit the orphanage (forget Neyflix it does not works outside USA), bring a nook book (Barnes & Noble) if you like to read it stores 1500 books, magazines, newspapers etc., bring playing cards if you like to play card games. Once documents are completed their are mandatory waiting periods before the next step in the process during these days you have much down time to fill be creative about what you can bring that will be compact but entertaining. Also, we had verizon give us a global phone (free of charge they switch your current phone number to the global phone for 30 days) your regular cell phone will not work here (we use the cell only for text messaging home and important calls we use the computer for all other communication, because the cell phone can get costly). Clothing you will need is minimal (dress clothes for court, few changes of clothes for orphange visits, comfy clothes for at apartment. also EVERYONE here dresses warmer than at home. They are always asking if I am cold, so I have kept to long sleeved sweaters and no sandals so I don't offend anyone. They always have dark coats on and warm clothing. Men wear dark colors. Russ' tan dress pants and coat stand out in this culture like a man wearing hot pink at home would. LOL) You can buy most food you will need here (I miss spices from home when cooking however). The Ukrainian food in the restaurants Syvette has taken us to has been good and the atmosphere was very good. There are also pizza shops and McDonalds if you like. Russ loves the coffee and butter better than home. I prefer the hot tea.

Anastasiya with Syvette, the lady we are working with here in the Ukraine. All the children love her they realize she helps children to get a "mama" and "papa". The other picture is the two sisters hoping for a family to host them when they arrive in America on Monday. These girls are so very excited to come to America. They have a light in their eyes that was not their yesterday as they anxiously hope to find a family who will want them. They are precious and want nothing more than a "mama" and "papa". My heart is heavy for these children. When you see the excitement and the spring in their step as they have hope, because they are coming to America and hope they may find parents who want them. I am praying, praying, praying that God calls families to want these children!The transformation that comes with the hope of finding a family to love them is touching beyond words as I pray God will stir hearts to desire to provide a family for them.
Today Syvette received the documents from the local SDA. She is taking the train back to Kiev tonight to complete more paperwork as we wait here for her return. Syvette is hopeful that the judge will tell her tomorrow what day next week we will have a court date.
We were given permission to take Anastasiya to the circus on Saturday, that should be alot of fun.
As I write this blog, my family at home, especially my grandchildren will not believe this but....... Pappy has been playing Pony Party on the Nintendo DS that we brought for Ana for the past two hours LOL. He is trying to learn how to play so he can teach Ana. Haiden I think we will need you to teach her how to play the DS when we get home (and maybe Pappy too).

Prayer Request

I spoke with David Avilla last evening he is the man from California who is the director for Advocates For Orphans International.(They are the organization who arranges for Ukranian orphans to come to the USA for a 10 day to 2 week visit. This is how found out about Anastasiya, she was to be part of a hosting program in December, but the children were not granted permission to travel because of the swine flu epidemic.) The remainder of the children who were scheduled to travel have received permission to come to the USA this coming Monday. They have been trying to arrange for this group to come since last May and permission was just finally given yesterday.
PLEASE PRAY THERE ARE STILL 5 CHILDREN WHO NEED AN AMERICAN FAMILY TO HOST THEM!!! David is trusting that God will intervene and provide 4 additional families by Monday. To host a child you must be willing to have the child stay with you and your family while they are in the USA and be willing to consider adopting the child if the child is a fit for your family. There is a 9 year old little boy, an 11 year old girl, a 13 year old girl and two sisters (age 11 & 13) who are still praying for families to want to host them. Whoever chooses to host the sisters will recieve a double blessing as both girls will com to your home! PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL CALL FAMILIES TO HOST THESE CHILDREN. IF YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO YOU FEEL WOULD BE A GOOD PROSPECTIVE HOST FAMILY PLEASE PASS THE REQUEST ONTO THEM. THESE CHILDREN NEED OUR HELP TO MAKE THEIR DREAM POSSIBLE!!! If you have questions or desire further information, here is David's email to contact him david@advocatefororphans.org. He has been an amazing help to us during our adoption process. We have been so very, very blessed with a beautiful little girl who will be a wonderful blessing to our family. I am assured there are families who the children arriving Monday will equally bless. God calls us to outreach to these children and we feel we are helping a child and we find we are the ones who are helped more and blessed more than even they are. Russ and I will be praying and anxious to see who God calls to host one of these children and who will receive the double blessing of the sisters.

Papa Is Smitten

Anastasiya was all smiles this evening when we got to the orphanage. We went over some English words in the English/Russian picture books that we bought her to try to begin to teach her some English words. Right now I have to admit she is not real motivated to learn English I think she believes I am going to learn Russian. She looks up into my eyes and tells me a "big story" as if mama should understand everything. When I tell her I do not understand she starts over again with full confidance that I will understand if she repeats it again. We are going to help her each day with her English right now she knows zero.
Syvette spoke with all of Anastasiya's teachers today, ALL said that Ana talks, talks, talks about her mama and papa alll the time and that she is very, very happy. Remember this is the shy little girl. I would not describe her as shy, but as a flower blooming. She is priceless.
She has won her papa's heart completely. She flashes him her innocent smile and sparkley eyes and hecan't help but chuckle. She looks at pictures of him that she has taken and giggles out loud.
Riley picked out some Polly Pockets for Ana when we went shopping. We gave them to her this evening she really likes them and so did all the other girls in the group beside her. They all huddled around her and helped dress the dolls in various outfits. They played with them all evening even after Ana moved on to the camera and computer.
She loves to listen to music. She plays Christian music off my Itunes all the time. She especially likes women vocalists and she loves it when I sing along. Her favorite song is Kerri Smith's Burst Into Song, she plays it 2 to 1 over all the rest.
After our visit to the orphanage we took Syvette and Andre out to dinner at a Ukranian cafe that Syvette recommended. She oredered for us. The food was very good and the cafe was very nice.
The circus is in town so, we are going to try to get permission to take Ana. Syvette thinks it will be possible to take her this weekend. We hopewe will be granted permission to go, we can't wait to see the light in her eyes when she watches the circus.

Yesterday Anasatasiya said YES!!!! when ask by the orphanage director if she wanted to be adopted by us. She wrote her letter stating she wanted us to be her, "mama" and "papa" and filled out her adoption application. When they ask her why she wanted to be adopted by us she said, "Because mama and papa are very beautiful and kind." After she gave her approval it was our turn. Syvette took us to appointments with the notary and then to the local SDA offices to complete our necessary paperwork. Now we wait for the paperwork to go through so we can receive an official court date, Syvette said she is hoping for a day next week but will not know for sure until the paperwork comes through. After completing paperwork we went to visit Ana. Syvette said we needed to select a name for her so it can be used on all official documents. We spoke with Ana about this decision. Russ and I want to keep her given name, Anastasiya, so she can maintain a part of her heritage. Ukrainian children do not have a middle name, so before traveling Heather selected her middle name it will be Elisa. Elisa means dedicated/consecrated to God and Anastasiya means reborn. What could be more approriate for a name, "reborn and dedicated/consecrated to God" ? Here in the Ukraine her nickname is Nostya and that is what everyone calls her. We spoke with her about what she would want her American nickname to be but we have not yet made a decision, there are enough new things for her to absorb right now. We spent some time painting crafts with her and two of her friends (Inna and another girl named Nostya). We try each day to be prepared with something to do with her. We plan somethings also that we can include her group in so no one feels left out. There are sixteen girls in her age group that she rooms with and 100 children in the orphanage. We also bring her food treats each day and bring things for her whole group sometimes.
Syvette has been great to work with. She is knowledgable and trustworthy. She lets us know what we have to do, when, where and how. Without her we would be lost in the process. She also serves as our translator.
Today we went to the bookstore to get picture books for Ana with Russian and English words to help her speak some English. We also got her the story of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid since she loves the Disney Princesses.
A note to the family:
Gracie, Bubbs, Laynie, Madie, Haiden and Riley she wants to know who will teach her things like riding a bike I told her you will all help her. She likes to swim. She likes to do cross stitch needlework. She like to draw. You will love her she will be a great new friend for all of you. Emily and Lindsey we gave Ana your letters she is excited to meet you. Gracie we told Ana you will be a best riend for her, she smiles a big smile anytime we say your name to her.
Heather you are a princess to her. She thinks you are very beautiful and she loves the pictures of you in your blue dress. We talk to her about you and Isaac all the time. She understands you are sister and brother. She wants to meet you and hug you. We tell her you will help her and teach her many things. She is learning you will be a very important in her life.
We will be going to the orphanage this afternoon. I will give Ana the camera so she can take pictures for you all. She LOVES taking pictures then having them downloaded on the computer into a slide show. I'm not sure which she likes more taking pictures or seeing pictures of herself.

Decision Day

There are MANY precious children here whose dream is to have parents of their own. Each is adorable, gifted and special in there own unique way. God calls us as Christians to care for the fatherless, these children eagerly await for someone to respond to that call for them.

Today Anastasiya will be ask by the orphanage director: if she wants us to adopt her, if she wants us to be her parents if she wants to come to America to live with us and be a part of our family. This is her day of decision, a choice that will change the course of her life. We have fallen hopelessly in love with her. We eagerly await to hear her decision as she is waiting to officially here ours.

Svette has already left this morning to start paper work and secure appointments with the notary. She works very hard to do her very best to assure everything goes smoothly. She spends many nights traveling between Kiev and here an eight hour trip by train. She sleeps on the train when she has to travel between the two cities then arrives early to start work again.
She has been a great help and blessing to our time here. She knows what she is doing and has good relationships with everyone here. We are trusting her lead in the process.

Days Full Of Joy

The children here sure are joy to spend time with. We brought a craft to do with Anastasiya's group today, bendaroos. They were all excited and eager to participate. Ana loves "showing off" her Papa ana Mama to all her friends. She enjoys sharing the things we bring for her and taking pictures of everyone and everything with the digital camera. Any pictures she is not in, you can be guaranteed she was the photographer. She will have many photos to take with her to remember all of her friends. She does a great job with the camera, she is a natural. Advice to those coming after us: forget about purchasing an electronic translator no one understands what they are saying, purchase some picturebooks with Russian and English words to read with children, set up skype on your computer to use to call land lines and cell phones back home (landlines are free calls with skype and cell phones are only 2 cents a minute, great way to phone home inexpensively). We are thoroughly enjoying our time here with Ana and the other girls. The people at the orphanage are kind and welcoming. They are easy to work with and encouraging.

We had a shutterfly book made for her from http://www.shutterfly.com/ web-site with pictures of all her new family, home, bedroom etc. and we brought it with us to the Ukraine. WE translated into Russian below the English words what the captions are below each picture. The book is a HUGE hit with all the girls. Ana carries it everywhere and is always reading it to a group of girls who surround her as she reads. Even though we brought picture albums for her and they love those also, the hardback shuttefly book is the favorite. I would suggest to others have one made: they are easy to make and inexpensive. Great keepsake.

Ana And Friend

The little girl with Anastasiya is selected to travel to the United States as part of the hosting program. She is a very sweet girl. She is quiet, shy and loving. She is not an attention seeker, she waits to be approached then warms up to you. She is a VERY GIFTED ARTIST!!! Whoever hosts this litle girl will be blessed. She is very special. She has beautiful big brown eyes that have so much depth and say so much as she looks at you. Really a great young lady!

Anasatasiya Loves Looking At Pictures Of Her New Family

Ana is so sweet and loving

Freinds from the orphanage

Friends from Ana's group

Anasyasiya's Friends

Happy family. Mama, Papa, Anastasiya. We went to the orphanage yeaterday to meet our little princess and today to spend time with her. When we arrived at the orphanage we first met with the director, doctor, teacher, inspector and others. We were given information about Ana and her background. She was anxiously waiting in another area to meet us once we received the information. When they brought her into the room there was tremendous emotion, she instantly melting Russ & I's hearts. There was lots of tears of joy as she instantly hugged Mama and climbed right up on my lap when I sat down. She is so precious, beyond words and much more than we could have ever imagined. She is a litle angel, sweet, shy, incredibly precious, with innocence, deep blue eyes that sparkle with love and a smile that lights up her face and will wobble your knees. God is so amazing to have chosen such a precious little girl for us. We are so blessed!!! We can't wait for the rest of the family to meet her, we are sure they will love her as much as we do. She has stole our hearts. We told her today that her sister Heather loved her wanted her to come and see her and couldn't wait to hug her. She put her hand over her huge smile and giggled all over as she said yes, yes, yes! This little girl is so full of love and affection. She had much fun taking pictures of her friends and downloading them on the computer. We will attach a few below. There are some very precious children here waiting to be loved by a forever family. A few will be traveling with the next hosting program and will bless any family fortunate enough to have them.

We had to come to an internet cafe to post this we do not have our Internet service working yet so I am not sure when I can post again.

Please continue to pray for us tomorrow we will again spen a few hours at the orphanage then the following day, Monday, the orphanage director will be asking Anastasiya if she wants us to adopt her. If she has yes, she will have to write a letter stating her desire to be adopted. Then the next round of paperwork will begin, so we can move forward toward securing a court date.

Leaving Kiev

We just returned from the SDA office in Kiev. We have our paperwork in hand that gives permission for us to travel to the region where the orphanage is located. The SDA appointment was very simple. We didn't even need a translator. Our driver took us to the SDA. We showed our passports signed a paper and were handed a stack of documents. We will be leaving in a few hours for the train station. It is a 7 to 8 hour trip to the orphanage region. We will be traveling during the night. We met with Sasha earlier today and the financial advisor who collects the money for our adoption costs here in Ukraine. Again a simple process, thanks to all the people who have put so much effort into everything ahead of time; thanks Daivd & Sasha. Sasha said we will be able to meet Anastasiya tomorrow afternoon. Russ and I are both very excited to finally meet her in person. Sasha said she was smiling and happy when they told her that we were interested in adopting her. They also showed her pictures of us. She knows we are coming but does not know when. All of you who are praying for us please pray that she will connect with us and bond easily. We have been told that she is very shy. We thank all of you who are praying for us!!!! We know that your prayers are going before us and helping each step of the way. When we are not busy with documents or adoption proceedings Russ and I have been doing our devotions, listening to Praise & Worship Music on the laptop, watching movies on the laptop, playing cards, reading some great books and spending quality time together. We are really enjoying each other's company. We are not sure when we will have internet access again once we leave Kiev so I am not sure when I will be able to update our blog again. We want to send our love you to our children at home: Russ, Ryan, Heath, Heather, Isaac, Heather, Cheri, Ashley & Jess also our grandbabies: Grace, Bubba, Haiden, Riley, Laynie, Madie, Uriah. Hope the grandkids are crossing the stickers off the sticker charts we gave them so they can count down the days until we see them again. We will have a big sleepover at grammie's house when we get home. Love you guys!!!!!

Just spoke to Sasha a little while ago. He will be meeting us around 2:00 PM tomorrow (Thursday) to take us back to the SDA to pick up our paperwork. We will then be traveling by train tomorrow night, leaving around 9:30 PM for the eight hour train ride south to the orphanage. We are hoping to meet with Anastasiya on Friday.

Kiev

Took me a while to figure out how to update my blog since the tool bar is written in Russian, not sure why or how to change it.
We flew out of Pittsburgh Monday at 6:00 PM switched planes in Paris then on to Kiev. We arrived here Tuesday afternoon. I never took so long to pack to come somewhere as here to the Ukraine. We were told pack light either one suit case or a few small soft suitcases that will be easy to travel in the small Ukrainian cars once we arrived. So I packed and unpacked, eliminating everything possible. So we are here with minimal clothing for our 18 day stay (washing everything by hand and line drying so we don't run out of clean clothes).
When we arrived in Kiev customs was easy. I was very surprised there was no checking of luggage or anything we brought with us. Just a look at our passports then on our way.
Our driver was waiting for us as soon as we walked through customs with a sign saying WALK, so he was easy to spot. He did not speak any English so we just dutifully followed him after letting him know with handshakes and pointing to the sign that we were indeed who he was waiting for. He took us to the market to exchange money and get some food supplies. The market was somewhat like Reese's market in Tyrone, only a few less choices and replace the meat counter with various kinds of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes.
He drove us to the apartment which will be our new home for the next few days while here in Kiev. It is modest, clean and decorated in what I would compare to a 50's stlye USA decor. It is evident that they have tried to provide a comfortable and safe place to stay.
One of the things we noticed is that everything here in the Ukraine seems to be smaller than in the USA (no over weight people, smaller quantities of everything at the market, portions are smaller, rooms etc).
On arrival day we rested. Sasha (the man who is assisting with our adoption here), phoned us on the apartment phone to check in with us. He speaks fluent English, so we were able to ask any questions we had. He informed us we would be picked up by a driver and an interpretor at 7:30 AM Wednesday for our SDA appointment.
Melatonin didn't do the trick for resetting our internal clocks (time here is 7 hours later than in PA). We were wide awake at 2:00 AM unable to go back to sleep. So at 4:00 AM I was texting Dave & Denise Fusco to try to get our Skype up and working. Thanks Dave you are a life saver when it comes to technology. We couldn't get Internet access, so I was unable to test it last night.
Today however the driver showed us where the Internet cables are, so I was able to get the Internet working. After you all get awake in PA I will try the Skype phone connection out to be sure it is working now. Anyone traveling after us I highly recommend getting Skype set up to use: not only can you talk to someone on their computer, but you can also call land lines free of charge and cell phone numbers for 2 cents per minute. We also brought a global phone which verizon provided free of charge (they turned my cell phone off and replaced my number on the global phone for the next 30 days.) Texting on the global phone is 5 cents incoming, 50 cents to send and $2.85 per minute to talk, so skype is the less expensive way to go. The global phone does provide free email access so family is able to reach you even if you are not at your computer, so far I have been unable to access the emails from my phone since arriving in Kiev.
Today as promised the driver and interpretor, Kristine, arrived to take us to our SDA appointment. Kristine was bubbly, friendly and a breath of fresh air. She was helpful, encouraging and kind. Most of the people here seem very serious, she was fun loving and great to work with. She was however very concerned that I was wearing sandals and a short sleeved sweater. So ladies bring shoes not sandals and long sleeves. She kept thinking I would be cold, though I was quite comfortable, but felt perhaps I was inappropriately dressed by their standards. Just a side note: guys bring dark dress pants and jacket for meetings, Russ had light brown pants and jacket unlike everyone else we saw who wore predominately dark colors. We looked like we didn't know how to dress properly (here I was pondering before I came not to bring so much black to wear, because I have alot in my wardrobe at home, but my colors fit right in just needed more cover. lol) Tomorrow I will wear my boots and long sleeves lol. Not that I am at all worried ever about fashion, but we want to be presentable and appropriate by Ukrainian standards.
The SDA appointment went very smoothly. We were the first appointment of the morning, so when we arrived we waited for them to open then went right in. (There are alot of traffic jams here, so they leave early for appointments to give time. There are no road marks and 7 lanes of traffic can become 2 quickly and cars drive in any direction. Without a driver we would be a hazard on the road.) At the SDA appointment we needed only to show our passports then answer her questions. Our interpretor was with us. We were ask: How did we know we wanted to adopt Anastasiya since we did not host her? How did we know she would want to go with us or be adopted by us? They showed us a picture of her from 2006 when she became eligible for adoption and ask if it was a picture of her. Everywhere we go and all we do I pray God goes before us. I know He chose Anastasiya for us and trust He will be with us throughout the process. So far everything has gone smoothly.
After the appointment Kristine copied our documents to the SDA then took us to a coffee shop for some lunch. Russ said the coffee was the best he has ever had.
Then our driver brought us back to the apartment to await Sasha's call. He is to call us to let us know details for tomorrow. Kristine said we would probably be going back to the SDA tomorrow afternoon to pick up our approval documents then make plans to travel to the region where the orphanage is located. (Which is about 250 miles south of here).
Russ is napping he fell alseep reading a book. For those of you who know him, I am sure you are chuckling about the book part lol.
We will write more tomorrow. For now we anxiously await the time when we will get to meet Anastasiya. Sasha said she was told we are adopting her, so we are praying she is anxious to meet us. Our prayer has been that God will open her heart to us and that she will accept us and love us as her new family. We came here to make a difference in the life of this child and already we are finding that it is our life that will be the most positively affected!!
One last thought: The name Anastasiya means reborn. We were to select a middle name for her for when we go to court since she does not have one of her own. We gave Heather the choice of naming her, she chose Elisa for a middle name which means consecrated, dedicated to God. What a beautiful meaning her name will have: reborn, consecrated and dedicated to God.