Bringing Home Angels

Yes, I am the worst blogger in the world!!!

2012-02-09T04:06:00.001-08:00

Hello, all!

Yes, we had court!

Yes, we PASSED!

Yes, we are HOME!

No, we don't have Andrey yet!

Yes, we have to go back!

I am sorry for the lack of posts, but it has literally been run, run, run for the last week. We had court on Friday, Feb. 3rd. It was much more intense than I was expecting. We were questioned quite extensively on our motives for adopting. But, praise God, we did it. We then left court, waited on the night train, rode 9 hours to the capital city, went straight to the airport, hopped a plane to Zurich, ran across the airport and missed our flight.....but the plane was still there and I cried and cried and begged to get on that flight and to just open the gate back up and we would run to the plane.....AND THEY DID....so we made our flight to Chicago...and we only had a 3 hour layover until our flight to Knoxville. Our flight got delayed due to a "minor mechanical problem" and then about 30 minutes later.....our flight got canceled. We were so close, yet so far away. We ended up getting a hotel and staying the night in Chicago and catching a early morning flight out to Knoxville. We could not wait to get home to our kids!!! We did NOTHING but lay around and play and hug and kiss all day Sunday, then Monday we hit the ground running. We went back to work and the kids were in school and we have not had a day off yet! I am exhausted!!!! I am working on a long post about the actual court proceedings and I will post as soon as I am finished. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes!!!

Random Info

2012-02-02T10:29:00.000-08:00

Working on giving a kiss without slipping you the tongue....the very BIG tongue!

Yep...I have on three shirts, a sweater, a hoodie and a jacket....with two pair of stockings and some velvet purple pants...don't hate!

"Mommmm...why do you keep taking my picture?"

Sorry that I haven't posted much....there just really isn't that much to post about. It is too cold (-15 degrees) to go anywhere, so we sit in the apartment and watch Lifetime (which is killing Sean slowly). We go visit Andrey just once a day because there is not much heat in the playroom and it is freezing in there so they put so many clothes on him that the poor little guy cannot even move. We have court tomorrow at 11 am. I am a little nervous because our facilitator is sick and will not be joining us. She is sending a person named Ira (who I have never heard of) to go to court with us. After court, we will visit with Andrey one last time and then we will get on the overnight train to the capital city and then we will go straight to the airport to start our journey home. I cannot wait to get out of here. It is unbelievably cold here, more so than normal. I read today that about 75 people had died already from hypothermia. It is mostly homeless people and the elderly. So very sad. They haven't figured out a way to help the homeless here and they are indifferent to them, at best.

Andrey did not feel very good today. No laughs. No snuggles. No kisses. He just sat and stared. I don't know what happened or if he was just really tired, but something definitely was different. Please pray for him to stay strong and healthy for our journey home. I won't be back to pick him up for at least 14 days.

I have a friend that wrote a blog post today that took my breath away. I want to share it here with some of you all. Please visit her blog and read about the ones left behind......her blog is http://butbygraceitcouldbeme.blogspot.com.

Solitary Confinement

Before I share elements of the true stories that motivated the title of this post, I want to throw some food for thought out there for you.

We, as Americans, hate Adolf Hitler. Even his name brings forth anger for many. Any good contributions of art or science that he produced are far overshadowed by the atrocities he inflicted on the disabled, the poor, those of Jewish descent or other racial minorities. In his quest for a pure, perfect race, he extinguished the lives of those he deemed, by his standards, to be flawed and therefore useless. And America raged against the genocide- rightfully so, sending in troops to stop the maniacal reign of terror he inflicted on Europe.

Yet everyday, in Eastern Europe, in the shadows of the concrete buildings erected during a Soviet empire, this genocide continues to occur. If you walk the streets, you do not see the disabled, the cognitively impaired, the unique. You see a people striving for outer perfection- for beauty, for an elite quality of superiority in fashion and breeding. Those born with disabilities are shuttled away to institutions, living out their lives in restricted fashion, limited to the world the government deems appropriate. Deprived of the basic rights that we Americans value as essential to humanity- the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the right to practice our faith, the right to an education, to be treated with respect and dignity.

It is a slower genocide than what Hitler inflicted. His was brutally quick- the victims were forcibly evacuated from their homes and businesses, herded onto trains like cattle, transported to a future of incarceration or incineration, or both. They were treated like animals- used for manual labor until their cost of upkeep superceded their value in work, then put down like lame horses or rabid dogs.

The children and adults with disabilities in EE face a similar future. A government body determines their value as humans in terms of their potential costs of upkeep compared to value of work production- if the scales weigh in the wrong balance, they are sent to remote mental institutions, where they face a slow torturous death from malnutrition, isolation, deprivation of medical care, and maltreatment.

It's still genocide.

Yes, I am a slacker!

2012-01-31T08:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am a slacker. We are BORED out of our minds here. It is WAY too cold to go outside and do anything. We walked to the store last night (which is about 2 miles) in -10 degree weather and I thought I had frostbite on my legs. There is a story on MSN about people dying here in Ukraine from hypothermia because it is colder than normal. I thought I was being wimpy, but I guess everybody is freezing!

Andrey is still doing good. His belly looks better everyday. He is coming alive, but he gets very tired very easily. He loves to watch other kids play. He sits very contently in our laps and laughs when other kids are in the playroom. He would rather watch them than do anything else. It is sad:(

I finally got him to try to bite into a banana today. He will not attempt to hold or feed himself at all. He doesn't chew at all, but literally just swallows whatever you put in his mouth. He gets very angry if this is not done just right. He will take the banana (after I break off a small piece) and pull it very delicately with his tongue but won't actually bite off of it. He still will not take a drink of anything at all. I will bring back some thickner and spoon feed him liquids on our pick up trip.

Yesterday he kissed me. I have tried to ask/show him how to kiss since I have been visiting him and he has never tried until yesterday (he almost slipped me the tongue-lol), but he intentionally put his lips to mine and moved his mouth. It was so sweet.

Hopefully, we will have court on Friday. Maybe even Thursday, but more likely Friday, then we will come home on Saturday. Please pray for an uneventful court proceeding and pray that we can get tickets out of here and get home for a while.

Friday visits...

2012-01-28T05:51:00.000-08:00

Momma, you crack me up!

Sneaky look

Love bug!

Friday we split the visits...no real reason why, but I went to the morning visit and Andrey was hilarious! He was happy and playing and snuggly...so cute.
Sean went to the afternoon visit and actually had toys to play with. He pushed Andrey around on a car (no pics) and there were other kids playing in the playroom and he said that Andrey laughed at them the whole time they were in there.

Still waiting to see if we have court next week. Please pray that we do.

Day 8 with Andrey!

2012-01-26T10:46:00.000-08:00

Good morning Poppa!

Day 8 and finally a new outfit!!!

Take this silly hat off me....we are NOT outside!

Our first family photo!

How we spend most of our visit (and yes, the nannies about have a heart attack that I am lying on the floor with my shoes on)

So, for some unknown reason, Andrey's belly is much smaller yesterday and today it was almost normal size. He is still burping and tooting like crazy but his belly is a lot better. Thank God for that. Yesterday when we showed up for our visit, there was some type of priests there singing to the children. I got to see the little girl that climbed me like a tree and I can honestly say...I am in love with her. I would take her home in a minute. The look of desperation in search for anyone that will be her momma and poppa is heartbreaking. She went to each person there yesterday and asked them if they would be her momma or poppa. Kills me....

Andrey is doing so good. He plays and laughs and he lets us know when we wants a break. Then he scoots back over after a few minutes and puts his arms up for me to get him again. He is laughing more and I am so thankful that his belly is looking better. I don't know if its the yogurt I have been giving him or if it was just a big fluke. I will still keep an eye out for something going on. He is definitely severely malnourished. He only gets about 2 ounces of milk with "cake" in it 2-3 times a day, probably less than 500 calories and very little protein. We will have to be very careful about refeeding syndrome. It is going to be hard on me to not immediately feed him, but I will keep him on milk, cake, and yogurt until I get him home and fatten him up. I will take him straight to the hospital from the airport and he will probably have to stay for a week or so to get his body used to taking in food again. All of the other kids (besides the bedbound girl) look healthy and well nourished. I guess he doesn't get meat and stuff because he does not chew AT all. He eats like a lizard...sticks his big tongue out and grabs it and pulls it in his mouth. It is going to be a challenge to get him to chew. I have cleaned his teeth pretty good. I have the bottom ones almost white. I almost puke everytime I clean them. I should take a picture of what comes off. I hope I get them somewhat clean by the time we go home. Dentist is definitely on the top of our list of people to see when we make it home.

We went to McDonald's today and went grocery shopping at the big store at the mall. I have found a candy bar with chocolate, strawberries and cream in it...I AM IN LOVE. It is heaven!!! Will update tomorrow~(or maybe the next day)

Monday Visits and More

2012-01-24T05:18:00.000-08:00

We showed up to visit Andrey Monday morning and he was so happy. He laughed and laughed and laughed. He laughed so hard his whole body was shaking. He was so excited to see us and we had a ball with him. He came out of the gate so strong and then he just completely tuckered out. He scoots over to me (which is a lot of work and done with great effort) and picks his little stick arms up in the air for me to pick him up. He is definitely a momma's boy. He looks pretty good in the pictures, but he is just skin and bones. He has absolutely no body fat whatsoever (expect maybe a little on his cheecks). His shoulders are so thin and frail that you have to be very careful picking him up. His stomach is still HUGE...very bloated and very, very distended. He has distention all the way through his abdomen, even to his sides. I fed him some rice, cheese, and butter yesterday and he LOVED it. I was trying to get a little bit of fat and protein in his body...preparing him to get the heck out of here. He is so much smarter than I gave him credit for. When someone opens the door to the play room, he stops what he is doing and watches them until they leave. He especially has his eye on the lady's with the big pots of food. I still haven't gotten one solitary drink of fluid in his body. He eats great, but won't drink a thing. I have only tried the honey bear cup. I think I will bring a regular cup today and see if he will let me give him a drink.

The computer assigned our judge yesterday...It was someone that our team does not know and has never dealt with. I am very nervous about that. Our facilitator is in region today and is hoping to see the judge and go through our paperwork with him and see if we can get a court date assigned. I am not so sure about this...I don't have a good feeling at all.

We had dinner with the Kimble's and their precious little Mila last night. I love that girl. I had actually approached Sean about adopting her before they committed to her and it was so neat to see her with her new mommy and daddy. Mila is sick and not eating/drinking well. I would appreciate any/all prayers and good thoughts for her. I hope she will make it home safely.

We didn't get to visit on Tuesday morning because the orphanage was having "inspection". Our facilitator called and told us that they did not want us to come to the room anymore, to just tell the secretary and someone would bring him to us. I suspect that is because two of the kids in Andrey's groupa went CRAZY yesterday when I went to pick him up. This one little girl, about 3 or 4 years old, climbed me like a tree and missed me and said "mama, mama, mama". She then promplty turned to the nannies and waived "paka paka" and took my hand and tried to leave with me, which was just fine by me, but not so much from the nannies. The whole room was chaos for a few minutes. I am probably not the nannies favorite person :)

Me and Andrey relaxing after we played so hard!

Attempting to get him into crawl position....he declined!

He really likes to snuggle

PICK ME UP!!

View from our window

Random.....

2012-01-22T04:06:00.000-08:00

Really likes dancing!

We are having a lot of trouble sleeping....as you can see, something very important is missing!

Really missing these four monkeys (yes, even you Danielle). Trying to remember the story about the one lost sheep...

So there are a couple of pics to represent what is going through my mind..... Gotta go...Andreyshka is awaiting our arrival.

Saturday-Day 4 with Coop

2012-01-21T12:48:00.000-08:00

Well, obviously, EE makes you sleepy....because we slept right through the morning visiting hours. So, after we got up at 1 pm, we walked/hiked/slid/climbed through the snow to go to the store because our facilitator told us that the orphanage wanted us to bring diapers in today. The ground was like someone left the coke Icee machine on and it flooded the entire city with 6 inches of mush. It was awful, but we did get to get coffee/soup/coke/pizza on our way to get the diapers, so it was totally worth it.

There were no administrative people at the orphanage today, so we went in the back door and straight up to the groupa. I was just in time for snack. This was my first time seeing Andrey's room. He was already sitting at the table waiting for his snack, all of the other kids were doing potty time, except for one little girl in the gigantic crib. I was going to try to be nice to her, so I reached down to rub her hand and head and she went into a head banging fit and started biting herself. I was shocked and the worker just rolled her eyes. I felt horrible for disturbing her. Back to Andrey-I got to feed him his snack (I hope it was just a snack). It was "cake" in milk and I fed him with a huge spoon. He did much better with it than I thought he could. He lapped it right up, then they let me put his fresh size 3 pamper on (it was WAY too big) and dress him in a t-shirt, 2 sweaters (a pink and brown Minnie Mouse outfit), tights, thick pants and booties to go downstairs and play. And they gave me a blanket just in case he got cold. I fed him some Activia yogurt with a TUMS crushed up in it to see if that will help his gigantic belly any, so the entire visit he burped and tooted A LOT!!!!

He played a lot more today. He laughs a lot more. I finally found his tickle spot and he actually scooted over to me and picked his arms up for me to get him. He thinks Sean is pretty funny. He doesn't quite understand his hairy face.

Blizzard Land!!!

2012-01-20T08:36:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful teeth!

Not extremely impressed with this whole "Momma" thing...

Epic fail....forgot to pack Sean's socks. He is quite proud of these bad boys!

Hello, Pappa...where have you been all of my life?

Lean on me.............

Proof of blizzard!

Even though Ukrainians would laugh us out of here, we experienced what we like to call a "blizzard" today. After our morning visit with Andrey, we decided to walk a little bit. We still haven't found a store or any place to eat since we got in region. I finally called Yulia and asked her to call a driver to take us to the pizza place and praise God we found it! We ate a pizza with salami, corn, and cheese; a fruit cup; and cokes and coffee. It was devine! The pizza place is probably only about 3/4-1 mile away, but it was snowing so bad, we literally lost the sidewalk and Sean fell down! We also found a mini-mart that pretty much has everything we need, including Coke light (not to be confused with Diet Coke). Sean searched and searched for aluminum foil, which was hilarious. I tried to tell him that they would not have it, but he kept searching. He is a little afraid of our oven:)

2nd Visit!

2012-01-19T05:54:00.000-08:00

OH MY!!! I owe Andrey a HUGE apology. I have thought it in my head and said it on several occasions..."he is lower functioning than Cole and Caden". Hahahahaha! He is smart as a tack. He played ball with me, he picked up his arms and scooted on his butt to my feet to tell me to pick him up, he smacked me for cleaning his eyes and nose (which he can get away with for now), he knows exactly what is going on around him. He can mimmick play...he is verbal. I have videos of him playing and he loves to play jokes! I will post them tonight. So Sorry, Andrey....I will never doubt you again!

Rewind...meeting the man!

2012-01-19T05:17:00.000-08:00

We drove from the capital city to the region where our boy lives now...it was almost a 6 hour car ride. Yulia, our facilitator, and her husband, Yuri, drove us. I, of course, got car sick (happens all the time). So, I had not eaten breakfast and only ate some crackers and a granola bar all day with about 1/2 bottle of water. I was feeling like crap, but trying to not show it. We finally arrive and pick up the regional inspector (cannot remember her official title) and then we head to the orphanage. We met with the orphanage director, who was a larger woman with a tight silk nurse's outfit on...interesting. We were asked a couple of questions and then they asked if we wanted to meet Andrey. We, of course, said yes. We walked up some stairs and there he was, sitting on a rocking horse. I was expecting me to be little, but he is TINY!!!! Probably wears a 18 month-24 months old in clothes (he is 5 years old). The very first thing I noticed was how distended his stomach is...I am a nurse practitioner and I have seen a lot of distended tummies, but his is impressive. I was actually kind of afraid to touch him for fear of hurting him. Then the smell hit me...his mouth is filled with yellow/grey teeth and he kept burping and the smell almost made me throw up. I guess combined with my car sickness it was not a good thing. Anyway, he is just too precious (yes, a little stinky-but we can fix that). I was a little shell shocked after meeting him (which is perfectly normal). His eyes cross badly, his teeth are rotten, he cannot bear his own weight, he smelled horrible.....BUT he is PERFECT!!! He melted right into me, held my hand, grabbed my glasses and let me just hold and love on him. It hurts my heart to see how badly he has been neglected. He will need immediate medical care...like straight from the airport to the hospital. I hope his tummy is just full of gas, but I think it is something much more. Please pray for him that remains stable until we can get him home.

Pics for now....Update later

2012-01-18T12:40:00.000-08:00

2012-01-17T02:59:00.000-08:00

Like the outfit!

The green building is under construction, so they put up this mess covering that has drawings of what a building would look like if it were finished....very funny!

Park at the top of the never ending steps with a crucifix that someone is praying at..

Our living room...

Our "entertainment center"

Our kitchen...

This is hilarious! The "iddy biddy" cup is Dale Hogeland's expresso, the middle cup is my "Americano caffe" and the big cup is Kate Hogeland's big coffee....

Reflection

2012-01-17T01:22:00.000-08:00

So, I am sitting here in my apartment alone (Sean is asleep in the other room). I am thinking about meeting Mr. Andrey. There is no way to prepare for this meeting. He will have no idea that his life just changed, but I will know that our lives will never be the same. I feel like time is moving so slow here....I am just ready to go get him and actually see him with my own eyes. He has waited so long and he deserves to be chosen. I want him to know that we chose him, we love him and we will take care of his every need for the rest of our lives and we will make sure that he is taken care of for the rest of his life. I cannot wait to see all three of little guys with DS playing together. Andrey won't know what hit him....

To recap the last couple of days...

The flight from Knoxville to Chicago was uneventful. Left on time. Arrived on time. Then we get to Chicago. We met up with the Hogeland's and everything seemed fine. We boarded our plane on time, then we.just.sat.there. Three hours later, the captain announces "the part of engine three that was broken has been replaced. We have tested it a little bit and it SHOULD work." I felt my heart beat a little faster. For those of you that know me, you know that I HATE flying. It is funny that I have flown across the ocean many times because I really, really, really, dislike it a lot! We finally start to go and I thought I will not be able to rest the whole flight. Well, I took some dramimine (not the non-drowsy kind) and I literally slept the entire flight. I even slept through the meals. I felt like I had been hit by a truck~But anyway, because of our delay in Chicago, we missed our connecting flight in Frankfurt, Germany. So....we sat in Germany for a couple of hours. It was actually kind of cool. There was a lady who was escorting 15 orphans that had been hosted in the United States back to Ukraine. I really, really wanted to snatch a couple of them up, even some of the girls (I don't do girls....don't ask). So, we finally board the plane and it is like the oldest plane that is still operational today. It even had ashtrays. Then a fight almost happened on board over seating. Welcome to Ukraine!!! So we landed, got off the plane, walked straight in to the baggage claim, picked up our suitcases, walked toward customs, ushered through and walked through the door and there was a man with a big sign that said "Carmichael & Hogeland's". Praise the Lord! I was convinced no one would be there because of the delay. Nico was there to pick us up and we promptly went and exchanged money and bought minutes for our cell phones and we were out the door in less than 15 minutes after landing. We then headed to the grocery store, bought a few items and then landed in our apartment 30 hours after leaving home.....and I passed out for the next 10 hours!

Day 2-we went sight seeing around the city. Ate at a Ukrainian buffet (which I was a little afraid of), but it was fabulous! We both ate A LOT for $9...highly recommend it (right across the street from TGIFs). We met up with the Hogeland's and walked for most of the day. We saw the main park and the river and walked up 300-400 steps up the side of a hill. I possibly pulled a muscle in my leg and it let me know that it was not having all of the forced exercise. Three ibuprofen later, we made it back to our aparmtent and chilled out. We had ham and cheese sandwiches (at least it is ham to me), potatoe chips and popcorn for supper!

SDA appointment. Three RR families were at the SDA at the same time. We then got to meet our facilitator, Yulia. We met for like 3 seconds and then she said "Carmichael, you are first...let's go." No problem. Let's do it! We walk in, sit on the same couch, introduce ourselves to our SDA worker...she then starts the interview...."May I see your passports?"....."How did you find out about Andrey?"..........and then it was over. She called the orphanage and made sure he was still there and available. I held my breath the entire time she was on the phone. Then she smiled and said "Sign here to accept the referral". No biggie!

We will go to pick up our referral today and then board the overnight train to go to his region and meet Andrey tomorrow. I will do better updating, but jet lag has really kicked my butt this time!

SDA appointment!

2012-01-16T04:13:00.000-08:00

We are here and we are doing fine. We had our SDA appointment today. It was very informal. I even wore jeans! They only asked us two questions....one was to see our passports and the other was how we knew about Andrey, then we were done. Took about 5 minutes.

Last time we adopted, we were pretty much here on our own. We met one family (the Nalle's) for one evening, but this time with so many of us here, we are really getting a lot of support from one another. It is awesome! I am actually babysitting the Hogeland's little man right now while they are at their SDA appointment. I hope and pray that they find the other little one that they want to adopt!

We walked about 4-5 miles yesterday (in the snow) and up and down these never ending stairs (probably about 300 or so steps) and my legs are letting me know how out of shape I am in! A lot of RR families are meeting this evening at TGIF's and I hope to socialize and relax before our train ride tomorrow! So far, so good. Will try to post pics of our apartment and such later.

I am leaving on a jet plane.....

2012-01-12T20:49:00.001-08:00

I don't know when I will be back again (literally). We leave K-town at 1130 tomorrow and should land in Uk**ine Saturday at 1pm. It is snowing here and I hope that does not cause a delay! Wish us luck!

Andrey's Birthday Video by Andre G.

2011-12-29T11:15:00.001-08:00

This is a must watch. It literally took my breath away and I cannot wait to get ahold of this little guy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cpWJI7DNqx0

Happy Birthday, Andrey (Cooper)!!!

2011-12-28T20:08:00.001-08:00

Today is my little man's 5th birthday. I know he didn't get a cake or presents or even a "Happy Birthday", but I promise that won't happen again. I feel so bad that we were not able to get him in time to celebrate this important date. I want him to know that he is loved, he is wanted, and his life will be celebrated from this day forth! Happy Birthday, Big Man!

2011-12-27T17:07:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of Cole when I first met him....I was overwhelmed by his inability to do...well....anything. He was like a little dishrag that they handed me.....

This is Cole after being home 6 months. This is what love can do. I show you all this to let you know that Cooper may not be what you or I or anyone thinks he should be, but he will grow and shine like the star he is! I cannot wait to posts pics of him after I overdose him with love!

TRAVEL DATE!!!

2011-12-27T06:35:00.000-08:00

Yay! We finally have a travel date and an appointment with the adoption authority for big man Coop! Our appointment is January 16th, so we will need to be in country by at least the 14th or the 15th. I feel like we have been waiting forever~we are just thankful that we got a date, Cooper is still there waiting for us and that we will hopefully get in, get out, and things will be smooth. Off to book airline tickets!

At a standstill.....

2011-11-20T09:39:00.000-08:00

On the adoption homefront, no news at this time! We are hoping that travel dates are going to start being issued at the first of December, but who knows? It would be so awesome to be able to travel at the end of December. My sister would be off of work and I am off from December 20-30th already so that would work out great for me personally, but I know it is not all about me....but a girl can hope, right?

About Andrey's name....it is going to be Cooper! Yay! I love the name Camden, too, so maybe my next baby will be Camden (heheheh-don't tell Sean). He looks like a Cooper (aka "COOP") and I think it will really fit him.

Today's is my Cody's birthday....17 years old. I am working today at the same hospital that I gave birth to him. He is such a great kid with a HUGE heart and I love him so much. I am so proud to be his mother! He is working with the special needs kids in high school and loving every minute of it. He plays and loves on Caden and Cole like you would not believe, even torturing them like a big brother is suppose to! He had to work today, too :((( HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CODY!!!

I promise to update when we hear some news....

Still waiting..

2011-11-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

Nothing much new to report. We are still waiting on a travel date to go get our little man. I have bought him a couple of outfits, some "long johns", a coat and some sensory toys and we are ready for him to get here already!!

P.S. Janie-this is actually our THIRD child that we have bought!

Interesting Day!

2011-11-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

So, time feels like it has come to a screeching halt since we mailed our dossier to EE. Not much going on....work, school, same old, same old. No papers to fill out, no notary needed, not anxiously checking the mailbox to see if any important letters are in there...not really much at all going on....but, oh, yeah, I almost forgot.........
WE WERE SUBMITTED TODAY!!!!!!

Hang on little dude, we are so close!

Almost Done with Raising Funds

2011-10-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

I am the world's worst fundraiser. I hate it...and I feel like there are people that have a bigger need than I do. I have the ability to work extra shifts and add money to the adoption fund where some people do not have that opportunity. Having said that....I am exhausted! I have worked 19 extra shifts in the last 9 weeks to get the rest of the money we will need to get to our boy, plus a little extra money to run our home while we are not working. So, I did the calculations today and I am only about $2500-$3000 dollars away from needing all the money we will need and I am so thankful that we are almost done. I cannot wait to actually spend time at home with my babies instead of working every.single.day! Please pray that I will last until we can go get him!

Dossier is in Country!

2011-10-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

Our dossier is our little man's country and it should be submitted to the SDA ASAP! I am hoping that they have everything they need and that all the documents are good and hopefully the paper chase is over.

I was so stressed out about traveling and leaving my two little men behind (my two oldest ones probably won't realize that we are even gone), but for some reason, I am at peace about it. My mother is going to take off work and stay at my house for 7-10 days and then my sister is going to finish the rest of it. I was so worried that the boys would be shuffled back and forth from here to there and throw in missing mom and pop, I was terrified that they would be scared and unhappy. I feel so much better that my family loves them enough to not only agree to watch them, but that they are going to rearrange their schedule and make the boys as comfortable as possible. That makes my heart happy!

Starting a full ten day work week tomorrow, so I will post as soon as I get any new information.

Be Still My Heart!!! Check out the new pic!

2011-10-24T14:36:00.001-07:00

Absolutely Beautiful Verse!!

2011-10-22T13:48:00.003-07:00

"Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important." (1 Corinthians 1:27-28)

Day #22-Sorry I didn't post yesterday

2011-10-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

I had a BUSY day yesterday....worked, then went to a fall festival....then fell into bed without turning the computer on! Mentally and physically exhausted!

Someone left a message calling Andrey UGLY and it has bothered me greatly. I know that I should not let stupidity bother me, but it did. All that poor child has been through and been without and someone then calls him UGLY. I am shocked and I can't believe that people still exist like that in the world. Well, today's blog post is to tell you some things that I think are beautiful about my baby....

1. His perfect almond shaped eyes that criss cross every which way they can
2. His perfectly kissable lips!
3. His mega tongue!
4. His cute little ears!
5. His little chubby fingers!
6. His cute little button nose!
7. His sweet blonde hair!
8. His little outie belly button!
9. His tiny little foot!
10. His totally SQUISHABLE cheeks!

I LOVE THIS BOY just exactly the way he is (we will attempt to fix his crossed eyes, but only because it will help him see better-not because I don't like them)

Day #20...What a day, what a day......

2011-10-20T17:15:00.001-07:00

On a happy note....I FINALLY received my guaranteed overnight letter SEVEN days later and our dossier is on it's way across the ocean! I committed to Andrey on August 17th and mailed the dossier on October 20th. Pretty good, huh?

You know yesterday was my birthday, right? Guess what I got? Something that Sean Carmichael said would never be purchased>>>>> a VAN! I have tried multiple times to buy a van and somehow Sean always talks me out of it. Well, today he did not...he actually traded his car in, too so both of us have different cars. I love this van. The doors automatically open, it has a DVD player in it, navigation system and leather!!! It is awesome! That shows how old I am that I am this excited about getting a mini-van.

Anyway, sad news tonight. Can't tell you anymore, but please pray that this situation can be resolved and that hearts and minds will know what the right thing to do is. Pray for discernment for me and my family, as well as others. Thank you.

Day #19-Random Thoughts

2011-10-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

First of all, sorry for yesterday's post...

Today is my 39th birthday. I have never been one to really celebrate birthdays, but my hubby is taking me out to dinner ALONE for my birthday and I am EXCITED about it. I very rarely get excited about events, so it is a big deal. Now, on to what I want to say. I woke up this morning and the first thought in my head was "You are 39 years old...what are you thinking trying to adopt again?" I felt so old and so blah this morning....thinking I really did not have enough energy to take on another "baby". Caden is 3 but very much like a little baby (and I love it!). Cole is 5 but like having a tall toddler! Satan was really doing a number on me this morning. Then I turned on the computer, went straight to Natalie's blog (blogging4theleastofthese.blogspot.com) and there he was....my boy in an Arkansas hoodie rolling his little car and beating on his drum and all that doubt instantly faded! I can not tell you what it means to me to have this young woman over there with him. When I was adopting Cole and Caden, I had a couple of older pictures and that was it. I had no idea if they were even alive at the time of travel to meet them. It is so comforting to know that he is ok. With all the stuff going on in UA right now (not issuing travel dates) I would be INSANE without Natalie over there with him. I love her heart and I love what she is doing. Please stop by her blog and support her. I cannot imagine having that much courage to do what she is doing at her age.

Check my boy out in his hoodie!

Day #18-Oops...about forgot to post!

2011-10-18T20:45:00.001-07:00

We went bowling tonight and had a great time~~~So many little and BIG cuties with DS there! Almost midnight and 6 am comes early!

Day #17-Caden Goes to School....

2011-10-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

Caden started school today. He LOVED it, but was so tired that he could not even walk to the car when school was over and came home and took a 3 hour nap! HA!!! He is in Cole's classroom and Cole didn't know what to think about Caden invading his space. It will be interesting to see how this dynamic works out.

On the adoption home-front...The Golden ticket was received in Nashville on Thursday last week, they apostilled it and sent it right back in the envelope that I sent (overnight) and it should have arrived on Friday. Well, still have not seen or heard from it! I called the post office and they have begun an investigation, but in the mean time...I still don't have my one last paper. If I don't have it by tomorrow, then I will make the 4 hour (one way) trip to drive there and get it done on Wednesday. Please pray that it comes tomorrow because I don't have the time or energy to drive to Nashville.

Day #16-Caden's Birthday!!!!!

2011-10-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

My baby is 3!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe that??? It seems like just yesterday that he could not even sit up on his own. How time flies! I love this little monkey and I cannot explain how much joy he has brought into our lives. He is a HUGE blessing and I am so happy that we said "Yes" to add on a second boy....makes me sick to my stomach that I almost said no. I worked today and we just hung at the house today after I got home. Caden got a set of drums and a fancy smancy shopping cart for his birthday. We are having his party next week, so I will post some pictures then.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADEN!!!

Day #15-Blogging is kicking my butt.............

2011-10-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

My brain is half functioning. I have worked 13 of the 15 days of this month, had the Buddy Walk, finished my dossier and have attempted to put something on this blog remotely related to Down syndrome! I am completely blank here! How about you watch this wonderful video????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpkw2Tz1fX0&feature=player_embedded

Day # 14-Fun facts about Down syndrome

2011-10-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

Totally stole this from another blog (All about the Enskats-ssshhh...don't tell_

DID YOU KNOW?!

* That 1 in 5 children with DS play a musical instrument? For children older than ten, that number doubles. One of five children with DS sing in a choir or vocal group, for children older than ten, it is every one in three...

* Two out of every three children with DS like to draw and/or paint pictures

* Approx. 9 out of every 10 individuals with DS listened to someone read a book more than three times a week between the ages 2-5

* Approx. 7 out of 10 children w/ DS use total communication (signs, etc) between the ages of 2-5

* Approx. 7 out of 10 kids with DS saw a speech therapist two or more times a week between the ages of 2 and 5

* Approx. 1 of every 3 children with DS older than ten rides a bike without training wheels

* Seven of every ten individuals with DS older than ten participates on an athletic team through Special Olympics

* Two out of every five individuals with DS participates on an integrated athletic team.

* According to their families, 3 out of 5 individuals with DS know how to operate a computer.

* One of every three individuals with DS older than ten w/ DS reads the daily newspaper on his or her own

* Seven of ten individuals with DS older than 10 read books on their own for personal enjoyment

* One of two children with DS go to school in a mainstreamed class.

* 3 of 5 children with DS participate in school activities that are open to all students.

* According to their families, 1 of 5 children with DS talk on the phone with friends more than three times a week. For children older than ten, that number doubles.

* One of three children with DS write email regularly

* Two of three children with DS over age ten have a boyfriend or girlfriend!

* Approx. 7 of ten children with DS pray on a regular basis.

* According to their families, approx. 7 of 10 individuals with DS imitate characters from a television program or movie

* Approx. 2 of 3 individuals with DS older than 10 prepare their own breakfast each morning.

* Three of four individuals with DS older than 10 make their own bed in the morning.

* One of two individuals with DS (older than 18) work in a non sheltered workplace

* One of five individuals with DS (18 or older) lives on his or her own

Day # 13-Tongue Thrust

2011-10-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

Tongue thrust is the pushing of the tongue against the teeth while swallowing or at rest. The average person swallows 2000 - 4000 times per day and exerts pressure with each swallow. This can push the teeth out of alignment and may cause distorted speech sounds. I read an interesting statement today...."Often falsely accused of being larger than those of its non-Down syndrome tongue, the tongue in people with Down Syndrome is actually not larger than normal, it just is not as well controlled by the muscles responsible for it." And with that, I will leave you with this.....

What do you think???

Day #12-Golden Ticket is HERE

2011-10-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

I received the golden ticket today and it has been overnighted to Nashville for apostille with a overnight return envelope so hopefully, I will have my dossier completely finished and ready to mail to that certain Eastern European country by Saturday! Can you believe that? We completed our entire dossier (including homestudy) in 6 weeks (including USCIS approval-which normally takes 6-8 weeks alone). I can feel and see God in this whole thing. It is awesome. Now, to see if the SDA will actually start issuing appointments and travel dates is a whole different ballgame~

I will leave you with a picture from the Buddy Walk....

Day #11-You Wanna What???

2011-10-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

So, I had introduced my idea about adopting a child from Ukr**ne with Down syndrome to Sean and he had agreed. I was on top of the world. I could not wait to go get him. I literally stayed up 'til all hours of the night reading blogs of people that were either in the process of adopting or who had been there, done that. I then saw a couple of pictures of the other kids in the same orphanage with Cole. Two of them caught my eye....Caden (known as David back then) and Emory (who's family is there now getting him). I was really starting to seriously think about bringing two home. Why, of course, it was for their benefit. They would need someone to play with. Blah.Blah.Blah. I mulled it over for several weeks and then one night I decided to show Sean a blog about a family that was adopting THREE babies with DS (one with Leukemia-plus they had 3 kids at home already). I was just feeling him out, trying to study his reaction. "They are insane!" "They have really lost their minds!" "There is no way that you can take care of that many kids!" "How in the world are they going to afford it?"....(me-"adopting another one while you are there is only about $4000 more." "One is more than enough!" "Those are very brave or very crazy people!".......(me-"Well, you know it is really quite the deal if you adopt two.")...."Shut up! We ARE NOT adopting two!!!" (me-silent)....."Stephanie, I am serious....get it out of your head......we ARE NOT adopting two!!" (me-"Okay.") So we finished our dinner and I didn't mention it again that evening. The next day, though, I sent a picture of Caden to Sean's phone with the caption "Poor little fellow doesn't even have one dollar in his grant. Should we at least donate since you don't want him?".....No reply.......Sean gets home from work and is very quiet and just kind of mopes around. I am convinced that he is mad at me for my text. I ask him a couple of times what was wrong..."Nothing."......fast forward a couple of days. He comes into the bedroom and says "How do you get to that stupid website you are always looking at?" I show him. He goes down to the family room with the other computer. He comes back up a couple of HOURS later. He says..."Is all that stuff real?" (me-"I think so.") "Well, do you really think we could adopt more than one?" (me-"Yes, I do.") "Well, I think we should get Emory and Caden (David)." (me-"WHAT?? Are you crazy? We can't adopt three babies!!! Have you lost your mind?" "Well, let's get at least two and you choose which one." (me-"Grrreeeaaattt-so now I have to look at those two and PICK one!" To be continued...........

Day #10-How I ended up with my boys in the other room......

2011-10-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

This may part of a series...

I have not birthed a child with DS. I have not had the news delivered to me while pregnant or shortly after birth that there was something "wrong" with my child. I have never once cried over the diagnosis of DS. Down syndrome means something different to me. I am not comparing my journey with DS to anyone that has had to deal with it in a different way.

For me, Down syndrome is a beautiful, wonderful thing filled with so much more than I can even describe. I LOVE DOWN SYNDROME! I know that sounds crazy, but it is absolutely true. Every patient with DS that I have ever cared for as a nurse has touched me so deeply and I have received nothing but pure joy from it. Sean's uncle Mac was a superstar. He was my first personal experience with DS and I wish he was here to see his legacy. He made me wish that I could birth a child with DS, but I could not and did not...so I start thinking about adopting a baby with that little extra something. Enter Cole. I saw his little face with those chunky cheeks and almond eyes and it was DONE. I called Sean and told him of my desires and he laughed. I did not laugh. DEAD SILENCE. "Have you lost your mind?" "The kids are almost grown." "We are almost done." "He has Down syndrome." "Really?"....."Where is he?"...."How old is he?" "He is a REAL orphan." "Really?????"...."Where the h*ll is Ukr**ne?" "Have you lost your mind?".....(30 second-1 minute pause while he is looking at the picture that I text him of Cole)....."He sure is cute.".....(another pause)...."That's a big commitment."......(another pause-me still not breathing)...."Okay, let's go get him." I finally breath and say "Ok, will do". I will tell you next time how I introduced the idea of adopting TWO!

Day #9-Can't believe I am still blogging.....

2011-10-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today was our local Buddy Walk and I think it was quite a success! They brought Cole, Caden, and James (from Russia) on the stage and introduced them to the DS community and told the entire audience about Reece's Rainbow and what they do. It was pretty cool! They gave each one of the boys a UT football to welcome them to East Tennessee. Cole and Caden enjoyed the Buddy Walk, except they skipped their nap to go and by the end of the day, it was O.V.E.R. On a happier note, both were bathed and in bed ASLEEP by 8 pm.

Sean helped set up a table/booth for Reece's Rainbow and we told our "story" many times today. It felt really good to get out and let the world know what we know-that having a child with Down syndrome is a blessing! Sean worked so hard today and I am really proud of him (he is also bathed and ASLEEP-hehehehe).

Working a 12 day stretch at work so I do apologize for the short postings, but at least I am posting. I am not sure I will make the 31 days, but I am going to continue to try!

Day #8-Knoxville Buddy Walk

2011-10-08T18:06:00.000-07:00

Caden says "Please come to the Knoxville Buddy Walk tomorrow (Sunday) October 9th at the World's Fair Park!"

I should have my golden ticket tomorrow and I am going to get it apostilled by end of the week and then we will be sending off the dossier. Hope to be traveling by mid-end December!!!

Day #7-Atlantoaxial Instability (AAI) in children with Down Syndrome

2011-10-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

I thought I would put some information about one of my biggest fears on here regarding things that are "common" with kiddos with Down syndrome...

AAI denotes increased mobility at the articulation of the first and second cervical vertebrae (atlantoaxial joint). The causes of AAI are not well understood but may include abnormalities of the ligaments that maintain the integrity of the articulation, bony abnormalities of the cervical vertebrae, or both.

In its mildest form, AAI is asymptomatic and is diagnosed using X-rays.....Symptomatic AAI results from subluxation (excessive slippage) that is severe enough to injure the spinal cord, or from dislocation at the atlantoaxial joint.

Approximately 15% of youth with DS have AAI. Almost all are asymptomatic. Some asymptomatic individuals who have normal X-rays initially will have abnormal X-rays later, and others with initially abnormal X-rays will have normal follow-up X-rays; the latter change is more common....

The neurologic manifestations of symptomatic AAI include easy fatiguability, difficulties in walking, abnormal gait, neck pain, limited neck mobility, torticollis (head tilt), incoordination and clumsiness, sensory deficits, spasticity, hyperreflexia...and {other spinal cord} signs and symptoms. Such signs and symptoms often remain relatively stable for months or years; occasionally they progress, rarely even to paraplegia, hemiplegia, quadriplegia, or death. Trauma rarely causes the initial appearance or the progression of these symptoms. Nearly all of the individuals who have experienced catastrophic injury to the spinal cord had weeks to years of preceding, less severe neurologic abnormalities....

Most importantly, symptomatic AAI is apparently rare in individuals with DS. In the pediatric age group, only 41 well-documented cases have been described in the published literature....

Asymptomatic AAI, which is common, has not been proven to be a significant risk factor for symptomatic AAI....

The efficacy of the intervention to prevent symptomatic AAI has never been tested. Sports trauma has not been an important cause of symptomatic AAI in the rare patients with this disorder; only 3 of the 41 reported pediatric cases had initial symptoms of AAI or worsening of symptoms after trauma during organized sports participation. Members of the SO Medical Advisory Committee think that more such sports-related injuries occur but that they are being overlooked because of a lack of information about the association of AAI and spinal cord injury among health care providers. This claim has not been substantiated with published research.

(information from http://ds-health.com/aai.htm)

So, what this information says to me is GET YOUR KID CHECKED!

Day # 6-

2011-10-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

This is what Down syndrome looks like on a karotype (fancy name for chromosome study).

This is what Down syndrome looks like NOT under a microscope!

Day # 5-People First Language

2011-10-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

I am probably going to get a lot of slack from this, but here goes....

I am not sure I totally agree with the EMOTIONS behind the people first language. Of course, I want my children referred to in the most positive way possible, but am I going to get fighting mad when someone refers to them as a "Down's child" or "Down syndrome kid"? No, I do not get mad. I do sometimes, depending on the situation, say "well, really, he is just a regular kid...who happens to have Down syndrome." But that is about as far as I go. I don't want to protest or educate the world because it just does not matter that much to me. I have bigger fish to fry than to make sure that everyone is saying everything just so so. Now, if the "R" word or something like that comes up, yes I get offended and YES I LET THEM KNOW, but most people (or at least the people I associate with) have never heard of people first language and have no idea that what they are saying would offend someone. Yes, I know some of you are saying "well, educate them", but I don't know if I am willing to start a discussion over something I think is a minimal problem when I would rather address things like the "R" word...Make sense??? But anyway, did want to point out that People First Language does exist and many people feel very strongly about it and we should all ATTEMPT to use it to keep from offending others (my good deed of the day-lol)!

On a happier note, I am going to Nashville in the morning for fingerprints and I have been in touch with my congressman's office and they say I should expect the golden ticket in 7-10 days. I will believe that when I see it!

Day #4-Cole Update

2011-10-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you about Big Man Cole....he is the sweetest human on this Earth. He is the complete opposite of Caden (not that Caden is not sweet, but he is very different). It is really odd that they were raised in the same environment and yet, came out so differently. Cole likes to sit back and take things in, check it out really well, then decide if wants to participate or not. He has grown a ton, now wearing size 5T slim pants (wore a 2-3T last year), but is still quite skinny but very TALL. He is 90% on the height on the growth chart and 25% on the weight. He signs quite a bit....Mom, Dad, potty, hungry, thirsty, more, all done, please, but he has NEVER EVER asked for one single thing since he has been home. He would still literally sit in his room all day long and be perfectly happy if we let him. His favorite activity is jumping on his trampoline and eating. I don't know why he is so skinny because he can eat and he will eat anything and everything....except deviled eggs. He gagged and cried when I gave him one-lol. I worry more about Cole than any of my other kids because it would be easy for him to get lost in society. Caden demands attention and gets what he wants....Cole would literally lay and starve to death before letting you know he was hungry. He is a beautiful child, with olive skin and gorgeous chocolate brown eyes. He sucks his tongue to go to sleep and has never slept past 630 am since he has been home. It doesn't matter if you skip nap-time, keep him up until midnight, nothing....we are getting up at 630 am no matter what. He is "potty trained" or more time trained I guess you would say. He still wears a pull up, but it will usually last most of the day and he almost always wakes up dry, but he again, does not ask to go to the bathroom. You just say "Cole go potty" and he will go to the bathroom, pull down his pants, use the bathroom, pull his pants back up and go on about his business. Pretty cool, huh? He is healthy as a horse, has only been sick once since we got home and has a lot more endurance that little Caden man. He also has cute spikey hair!!!!

Day # 3-The Creed for Babies with Down Syndrome

2011-10-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

Just because I love this poem....

My face may be different
But my feelings the same
I laugh and I cry
And I take pride in my gains
I was sent here among you
To teach you to love
As God in the heavens
Looks down from above
To Him I'm no different
His love knows no bounds
It's those here among you
In cities and towns
That judge me by standards
That man has imparted
But this family I've chosen
Will help me get started
For I'm one of the children
So special and few
That came here to learn
The same lessons as you
That love is acceptance
It must come from the heart
We all have the same purpose
Though not the same start
The Lord gave me life
To live and embrace
And I'll do it as you do
But at my own pace

Day #2-Down Syndrome Awareness

2011-10-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

Ha! Even if I don't do another post...at least I did MORE than one!

Anyway, Today's topic......Being loved by someone with that extra chromosone!

If you have never had a hug or kiss from a person with DS, I highly recommend you do so as quickly as possible. It is breath taking and will melt the hardest of hearts. Cole and Caden kiss and hug with everything they have. Caden's little chubby arms are only about 10 inches long and you would think that he would not be able to even get them around your neck-and you would be completely WRONG! Those little dynamite arms will squeeze your head off as he is planting a delicious, sloppy kiss right smack in the kisser. No cheek kisses for these guys!

Seriously, while I do get annoyed at some of the misconceptions of people with DS (always happy, love music, love church, etc.), the thoughts that they are usually loving is completely true with my little guys. Love just oozes from them and they won't let you get by with some little hug or a quick kiss if you are in a hurry. They have a philosophy of "slow down, big hug, big kiss...then GO". I love it. I can't tell you how much I look forward to those hugs and kisses.

Down syndrome means so much to me. Sometime this month, I am going to actually write a long post of how this syndrome has directly affected me and my life. So, today's question is...."Have you hugged someone with Down syndrome today?"

Down Syndrome Awareness Month!

2011-10-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today is the official start of Down Syndrome Awareness Month and I am going to attempt to do the "31 for 21 challenge"....meaning I should blog everyday in the month of October to increase awareness with all things DS (notice the word attempt). Anyway, I am going to write out what Down syndrome means to me and how it has personally affected my life, but not today. Today I am going to write that I have the most wonderfully made two additions in my family, and that there is another wonderful little sunshine waiting for us across the sea, and I am thankful and honored to know and mother these children. I am truly not worthy!

On the adoption homefront, we are still waiting to hear from USCIS. I am going to call our congressman to see if we can solicit some help there to get things moving a little quicker....that is, as soon as I try to figure out who the heck that would be (save your comments for how I should be more involved with politics-not going to happen).

I have so enjoyed getting a glimpse of Andrey this week due to the missionary that is over there right now (blogging4theleastofthese.blogspot.com)and I can't wait to get my hands on him. He is going to be 5 in December, but looks/acts like maybe a 8-12 month old. He has some pretty moderate to severe institutionalized behaviors, so that will be interesting to get those to go away. Anyway, that is all for now and I hope that I will post again tomorrow!

New Pics of Andrey!!!

2011-09-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

There is a precious girl in Ukr**ne right now...she went to Andrey's orphanage today and got to spend a lot of time with him and others. She is also going to the preschool orphange (?) and the older kids orphanage. What a blessing. My heart is so full today that I cannot explain what knowing that people are there (and have been there) loving on him and playing with him. The boy looks like a handful....his favorite activity was pulling hair and taking off his hat. Thank God I have very short hair. He sounds like Cole when we first got there...he constantly grabbed me, pulled at my glasses, hit/fought at me....it was very short lived, but very tiring. On the adoption homefront, just waiting on USCIS and we are finished!!!

DONE....(well, almost)

2011-09-20T15:17:00.000-07:00

Today I mailed our home-study and other documents, including a letter from our pediatrician, asking for USCIS to expedite our case. So, I am completely finished with our stateside stuff. I am also completely finished with our dossier minus our state police clearance forms and our golden ticket. I am going to call the TBI office tomorrow and see what the hold up is on those forms. But other than those two little things, we.are.completely.done.with.our.dossier. I can't believe how quick it went. Last time, it took 5 months just to complete the home-study. So, hopefully we will get a fingerprint appt. by next week and we will go as soon as we receive the notice and we may actually finish this up by the first of October. Get ready Andrey-here we come. We are about to rock your world!!!

My Sweet Caden

2011-09-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

Since I am now back into the blogging world, I thought I would update on my main man, Caden. This boy is something else. I think back about when I was trying to decide whether to adopt only Cole or not. OMGoodness!!! What we would have missed out on if we had chosen not to get this little love. Caden was a BLOB when we got him. He did nothing! He could not eat, sit up, crawl, walk....nothing. I was overwhelmed when we got home because I was unsure IF he would progress! HA! That cracks me up now. This little maniac is a genius. He is very strong willed, curious, loving, sneaky, funny, and gives the best kisses in the world. He could not be any more different from Cole (will post an update on him later). He is referred to as "King Caden" because he demands your attention and he will not let anyone forget that he is in charge. He is currently being evaluated to start the pre-K program and I don't know if I am ready for that. Cole goes to school 3 days a week, so we get three mornings a week alone and I love our alone time. He follows me from room to room and does whatever I do. He puts the clothes in the dryer, loads the dishwasher...it is hysterical. He is 5% on the height on the DS growth chart and 75% on the weight! In our homestudy, our social worker described him as "of short stature and very well nourished." I call him "round pound". I let him eat too much, but he was so behind when we got him that I just let him go. We are now scaling back and he is doing well. He can eat anything. He had feeding therapy for about 7 months and then one day, he just started chewing and eating like a pro. He is not potty trained (he is only 2-will be 3 on October 16), but sits on the little potty when Cole goes to the bathroom. I just can't explain the joy my heart feels for this little boy. I miss him when I am not with him. He requires A LOT of attention, but I gladly give it to him. The one thing I worry about with our adoption of Andrey, is that Caden might loose his place as "the baby". I don't think Caden will let that happen, but he so enjoys being the baby and I hope that stays the same. He is saying one word...."Pappa", but signs more, eat, drink, please, thank you, nice, mom, dad, pig, bye bye, yes, no, help and "I love you". He knows everything you are saying and loves, loves, loves to clean and "work"! I think God that we said yes and listened to his calling when I was convinced that two kids at the same time would be too much! I will leave you with some pics!

Homestudy Update Complete!

2011-09-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

I received an email today from our social worker. She is sending out our homestudy to our stateside helper tomorrow to make sure that everything is "worded correctly" and I actually spoke to our USCIS officer on the phone today 15 minutes AFTER the case had been assigned out. How amazing is that? He literally just got the case and I called to see (ok....I called to make sure that someone was working on our case) if they had everything they needed (minus homestudy). He was very nice and I got to tell him about Andrey and that he would turn 5 in December and that U*** took a fall/winter break, etc. I don't know if it helped at all, but it made me feel better about trying to get there as quickly as we can. Not to worry, I will calling him back since I have his direct number to "check" on him at least every couple of days until I have that needed permission slip. I am not going to get my hopes up, but I think we might make it to Andrey's country before they shut down. If not, I have to remember that it is God's timing, not mine and I am just keeping my eyes on the prize.

In other news, we will be celebrating the boys being home for ONE year in two weeks. Can you believe that? I don't remember what life was like before they were here (well, maybe I do remember sleeping past 6 am). They have blessed our lives so tremendously that I can't even begin to describe it.

I will leave you with some cute pics of my babes!

Cutest baby on the planet! Just to make you smile!

2011-09-13T17:36:00.001-07:00

What's in a Name?

2011-09-13T10:16:00.000-07:00

So, I have been thinking about our new babe's name....I don't really even know his real name. I think it is Andrey, but that might not be it at all and even if it is, the caregivers never call him anything, so does he even know this name? Anyway, all three of my boys names starts with "C"-Cody, Cole, and Caden. My daughter is Danielle. So, the kids want to change it up a bit and give him a "D" name so that Danielle is not a loner! So, I am asking the readers (if there are any) what do you all think? Here are our choices: 1) Keep Andrey....2) Dreyson (still has the drey in it).....3) Dallas (don't ask)......4) Cullen......5) Camden........6)Corbin...

That is what we have come up with. I seriously have no idea which one I like best or even if I like any of them.

On the homefront...I am waiting on our Doctor's license and the state clearance forms, the homestudy final draft, and the golden ticket and we are finished with the dossier. I have been emailing/talking on the phone/preparing for all of these documents and I finally got them all and took my notary and off we went today. I am going to send them for approval tonight.

More later............

Check-In

2011-09-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

Well, our homestudy should be done by next week and I am working on the dossier packet now. I have sent off our I600a application (and they have cashed the check) so maybe, just maybe, we may get there sooner rather than later. I have refocused and now I am ready to tackle this packet of papers. My back is feeling much better from my two herniated disks and I am hoping that will give me my motivation to complete all of this.

I found a video on a blog with Andrey in it for just a few seconds and I have to say that first, he is beautiful. Absolutely perfect. He looks just like a blue eyed version of my Caden. I could not believe how much they look alike and they look the same size even though Andrey is two years older than him. But anyway, the video broke my heart into. We need to get there quickly and get him out of that box and onto the back deck with hundreds of toys! Cole and Caden will teach him everything he needs to know about how to play with toys, especially toys you can push around like lawn mowers!

My heart is heavy and I am doing some real praying and talking with God about what is on my mind. I keep going to Andrea G.'s blog and reading about all the other kids that are in the orphanage with Andrey and it is so sad. It is so unfair that these babies have not had a good start. I have never thought about adopting a child that is blind, or that has some disease that I have never heard of, but now I am quietly trying to picture what it would be like in my home with one of these children. I have not brought this up to hubby at all, yet, because I myself am not sure what is going on inside my head and heart. Please pray for me and pray that I will be able to do what God would want me to.

Stephanie

Video by Cody!

2011-09-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp7vyP-mJlI

Cody made this video for me and gave it to me yesterday. Please watch until the end!

Update!!

2011-09-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

Just a little update...I have mailed our USCIS application (permission from the US to adopt/AKA "the golden ticket"), have an appointment for our social worker to come to the house for our homestudy update on September 14th (sent an email to see if she can come sooner), and have stared the dreaded paperwork for all of the dossier documents. I have went to the doctor and had all my labs/urine tests done, ordered new birth certificates, etc.

Tomorrow is Cole's 5th birthday!! Can you believe they have been home almost a year? I remember his last birthday. We were sitting in a concrete playground and chasing him around like he was a wild animal. He would grab my face and knock my glasses off. It was horrible. It is hard for me to think back to the time when he acted like that. He is now so sweet and gentle. He is so easy to take care of. I wonder if his birth mother will be thinking of him tomorrow. I would love to know her and what she thinks about him. I wonder if she is missing him or she has just completely forgotten about him. She really has missed out. I feel sorry for her. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to just walk away like that. Tonight when I was putting Cole to bed, I was telling him "Oh, 5 years ago I was just starting to have back/stomach pains and starting to go into labor with you." It was pretty cute because he stopped and looked at me with the biggest grin and then signed "I love you" to me. I really wish that were true and that I would have given birth to him so that I could have taken care of him for his entire life instead of just the last year. He really is a gift, that I don't deserve, and I am so glad that he is mine! We are having a little party at the house tomorrow for him (and my mother) and then we will have the big party in a couple of weeks to celebrate their one year home. I promise to take pictures and post them.

Homestudy Update Paperwork.....check!!

2011-08-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

FYI, do you know how hard it is to type with one baby on your arm and one bouncing on your feet? Just sayin...

Anyhoo, I have two herniated disks in my back and have been down and out this week, so I was not my usual jump in and get things done kind of self. I was sedated and had my spine/back injected yesterday and am feeling much better and today I completed all the paperwork to get my homestudy update completed and we both have fingerprint appointments on Monday, so we will be scheduling our home visit and wrapping this part up!!! YAY!! I can't remember if I am suppose to go ahead and send in my I600a application now or if I am suppose to wait until my homestudy is done...I will have to look that up. I am scheduled to work the next 11 days straight so it will be an interesting next couple of weeks, to say the least. I knew we would be adopting, but didn't know who/when so I volunteered to work as many days as possible until OCTOBER!!! Now, Andrey has a $20,000 grant and I don't really need to work that much, but I already signed up for it, so at least I can be saving some money for when we are off work to go get our new little man. Plus I will need a couple thousand more dollars to complete the adoption, so it will all work out!

Will update when I start seeing some progress!!!

Confessions.....

2011-08-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, you caught me...the picture in the last post of little Andrey that I announced was on the "My Family Found Me" page, well actually there is more to the story....WE ARE ANDREY'S FAMILY!!! More details later....

Meet Andrey S

2011-08-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

Now, is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen? He is so "squishy" looking? Just wanted to show you all a picture of a sweet little boy in Eastern Europe who is now on the "My Family Found Me" page on Reece's Rainbow??? He just melts my heart~

Big, I mean B-I-G, news coming....stay tuned!!

2011-08-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

And just because my other kids are so good looking.....

2010-12-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to add a picture of my other son and daughter. This is Danielle and Cody!

Little Catch Up.....

2010-12-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

Everyone is doing pretty good here. Cole is healthy as a horse, eats like a horse, etc. He is the sweetest, most loving child in the world. He is going to special preschool 3 days a week and absolutely loves it. He is like a little sponge just soaking things in. He is almost completely potty trained and that is amazing to me. He is very gentle and likes things very neat and tidy.

Caden, on the other hand, is a holy terror. He is now very mobile, almost walking, but can get anywhere in the house he wants to be. Gone are the days of the pitiful, little helpless baby that can't do anything! He has found his voice and is not afraid to use it. He will do something that he knows that he is not suppose to and look at you and pucker his lips for a kiss, knowing that kiss will most likely result in his misbehavior being ignored. Smart one, huh? He is really fun to watch come alive. It is like he has been awakened from a coma! He starts a specialized structured day program 3 days a week (has PT, OT, ST, etc.) next week and it will be exciting to see what they can teach him (or what he teaches them). Sorry for the lack of posts, but days are BUSY around here and we just don't have much computer time, but everyone is THRIVING and they are such a blessing to have!

Stephanie

Caden found the Christmas Tree!!!

2010-12-14T10:31:00.000-08:00

Now, you tell me that is not the cutest thing you have ever seen! The pouty picture was after a nice, firm "No Touch" was said!

Worst Blogger Ever!!!

2010-11-15T18:46:00.001-08:00

I know, I know....I could win an award for worst blogger ever. Just wanted to let everyone know that we are still here. The boys are doing fine. They were both circumcised last Tuesday and did very well with it. We were only at the surgery center about 2 hours and then we went home. You wouldn't even know that they had surgery. Both did absolutely fine.

They are doing so good. They have adjusted so well, just like they have been here forever. Both are healthy and strong. They are getting more comfortable everyday. It is so fun to watch them explore and learn new things. Cole is so smart. He understands everything you say to him, follows directions, and LOVES to entertain you. I guess my favorite part of the last couple of weeks is watching the boys play together and love on one another. At first, they had nothing to do with each other. They didn't even acknowledge that the other existed. Now they play with each other, even fight over toys. The cutest thing I have ever seen is when Caden was coughing, Cole ran across the room and patted him on the back. It was so cute!

They have both been evaluated for ST, PT, OT, etc., but we haven't made a definite plan. Caden has gained so much strength since he has come home. He is so close to walking. I can't wait to see him walk his first steps. He is the sweetest child in the world. He will be contently playing with his toys, spot me across the room, stop and crawl and strain/moan/groan until he gets to me....just to plant a big, sloppy, wet kiss on me and then crawl back to his toys and continue where he left off. It will melt your heart!

I was rereading some of my posts and when I read the "I don't feel like these are my kids yet" it sounded like it was coming from someone else. Those feelings are definitely gone and I feel/know these are my babies that were placed here in my home by God himself. I love them so much. I am back to work and I miss them so bad while I am gone. I call and check on them 20 times a day! Not only do I love them, but they LOVE me. They light up when I walk in and both are knocking things down to come and get me. They are identifying me as numero uno and I LOVE IT!!!! They are such a blessing and I am so happy that we said "yes" to the calling to go get them.

Now, to things that keep me up at night.....I can't get the other children that are left behind out of my mind. One in particular that I have never seen, never held, never knew. I find myself thinking of him several times a day, wondering if he is hungry, if he is being taken care of, wondering if he is being abused...wondering how I can go get him. Wondering if he is suppose to be my son, wondering if it is fair to the ones already home, wondering if it is fair to say no when I could so easily say yes....lots of wondering, suffering, anguish...I can't even pray about it. I don't know what to say, I don't know what to pray for. I am as broke as I have ever been and I don't know what to do with all of this. Please pray for me and my family that something will happen that will let us know what HIS plan is for us. I want to say yes so bad, but I don't know for sure if that is what is suppose to happen. Please pray that HIS plan will shine through, and if I am suppose to go on this journey again, then everything will fall into place so that can happen.

Caden's Turn!!

2010-10-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to start with this little maniac. Caden just turned 2 this past week, but he is more like a 9 month old baby. He can sit by himself, but cannot walk, crawl (can do some kind of scoot thing), hold a cup, or really can't do much of anything, but boy is he CUTE!!!! He was sick when I first got him from the orphanage, so I held him A LOT and had lots of cuddle time with him on the plane rides home (don't recommend this). He is very sweet and loving, but I can't believe these two boys came from the same orphanage. They were literally across the hall from each other, but their caregivers must have been on opposite ends of the world. While Cole was MADE to be independent (feed, dress, sooth himself), this little man can do nothing and will make no attempt to do anything. If you put a cup or bottle in his hand, he just lets it go and sits and looks at you like you are the dumbest person in the world. It is quite funny. He also must have never heard the word "no" before (or "nyet") in his life. When you tell him no, he puts his hand over one of his eyes and it usually takes about 2-3 minutes and then you will hear the most pitiful sounding cry that has ever been made. (What he don't know is that I love it and think it is so cute-ssshhh-don't tell him that, though).

Eating-oh my, oh my! He wants to eat really well, but has no idea what to do with the food or how to chew it. He swallows whatever you put in his mouth down whole, like a pill. Believe it or not, we have not had any major choking incidents, but I don't know how we have not. His favorite foods are mac'n cheese and yogurt. He continues to have the gut issues and MAJOR issues with constipation, so only one yogurt a day and he savors every bite of it and then cries for about 10 minutes when it is gone. I have been giving him a 1/2 dose of miralax everyday and that is seeming to help quite a bit. I have taken him to the pediatrician and cardiologist, also. Our ped was not convinced the immunizations were correct, so we are just starting over and poor babies got three shots a piece on our first visit. Heartwise-he has what is called an aberrant subclavian artery, which is just a variation of the artery being in a different place than it should, and he is bradycardic (slow heart rate). The aberrant subclavian could be the source of his swallowing difficulties, but we have not had that checked yet. The cardio doc thinks that all of his minor problems (sluggishness, low heart rate, constipation, fatigue, etc.) are from a low thyroid. We had the blood drawn for that, but haven't heard back yet. Speaking of fatigue, this little guy requires many rest periods throughout the day, even though he sleeps about 10-12 hours a night. He just tuckers out so easily and will just fall over and go to sleep. (Still pretty cute)

Caden has his early intervention evaluation this coming Tuesday and I am anxious to get that started. He needs a lot of therapy and assistance on just catching up. I hope this will help him with his strength and endurance.

Overall, Caden is just like having a new baby. He is content, laughs a lot, likes to be held, draws attention everywhere we go, and is pretty healthy, all things considered. He has 6 teeth and will definitely bite you given the chance. He says "ma ma" and "bye-bye" and it is so stinking CUTE when he does. He waves bye bye, too. He cracks up when I try to get him to sign or show me where his nose or ears are. He thinks that I was put on this Earth for his entertainment.....and he may be right!

My husband asked me the other day if I loved these boys...and I sat for a minute and thought. I do love them, but not the same way I love my bio kids, yet. I still feel like we are babysitting someone else's children and that they are not quite mine. I don't know exactly how to explain it. My true momma love has not come into full bloom yet, but it is there and growing. I know that sounds awful, but some days I just want to bury myself under the covers and HOPE that these kids parents come and get them....and then I remember that I am their parent and well, I get out of the bed! I have read other blogs where people meet their children and instantly connect and have that mother/child bond and that amazes me. I know our day will come, but it isn't here just yet.

Stephanie

Update!

2010-10-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, some updated information on Caden and Cole. Sorry for the lack of posting, but I can honestly say that I have never been more exhausted in my life!

Things are going really, really well for the most part. The whole family is adjusting to a WHOLE new schedule. We went from two teenagers that are rarely home, finally having a date night once a week, with lots of alone time to not one extra second in the world to do anything. I am just now finding out how to shower/bath daily and there have been many pajama days that regular clothes just never made it to our bodies. BUT that is ok. Cole is such a good kid. He is very nervous and you can tell that he has been *disciplined* many times with many different methods. I swear he knows exactly what you are saying. He truly tries to do everything that you ask him to do. He is signing "more", "thank you", "thirsty", "hungry", and "potty". Granted he has never ASKED to go to the potty, but he will use the potty if you take him frequently. He wasn't a fan of the bathtub at first, but is now coming around. He has been to the pediatrician and cardiologist and has a clean bill of health, thus far. He has an opthamologist and urologist appointment next week and we should be almost done with doctor's appointments. His gut is much better, only pooping a couple times a day, but this boy can EAT. He weighs 30 lbs. and eats like a grown man! I have never seen anything like it. I am torn between letting him have all that he wants and what I deem a "safe" amount and we haven't quite got that down yet and we have had a couple of "eat til you puke" moments, which scared the little guy to death. He doesn't play well with others:( He kind of growls at them and he HATED Caden at first, but now he will just randomly come up and kiss him and pat on him. He also had an incident with our little dog. Let me preface this with my dog, Troy, is very sick (lung cancer) and is on high dose steroids right now. Cole has been really rough with the poor little guy several times, then put him in a choke hold and picked him up by the neck. Well, Troy had had enough and almost bit Cole's lip off. It was awful, but Cole learned to leave him alone. Both of them were quite pitiful after the incident. Cole sleeps so good. I let them both hang out with me in my bed for about 30 minutes before they go off to their rooms and when they are "soothing" themselves to sleep, it breaks my heart. You can really see how independent they are and how they have had to count on themselves for any and everything. They both will let us rock them and love on them, but sometimes Cole just "checks out". When he had to have blood drawn, he fought and screamed for about 15 seconds and then he just went limp and literally just checked out. His eyes were blank and he was sucking on his tongue and he was gone. It was so pitiful. It took the rest of the afternoon to fully get him back and it was just heart breaking. I know he thinks we were being mean to him and I guess that was his coping mechanism. I hope we can work it out were he feels free to express himself without fear of punishment. His little body (including his buttocks) are scarred and you can tell that he has been punished quite a bit. It is hard to correct him when he just checks out like that. I would love any advice that you veterans have out there for this.

I will update on Caden (aka "Bucket") soon....

Stephanie

We are HOME!!!!

2010-10-03T12:24:00.001-07:00

Yes, we finally made it home. This week has been something like I have never experienced before. We literally got off of the plane in UA and hit the ground running, went straight to the train, hit the ground running again and literally....never....stopped. We were in UA for 6 days to finish the process and get the boys home. We ate 5 meals the entire time we were there, the rest was bananas, granola, etc. We did "paperwork" for 12 hours a day and I think all of us was sick at one time or another. There was no time for a party at the orphanage or anything, we again, literally just ran in and picked them up. The boys have done great. I actually can't believe how well they have done. After we picked them up, I had physical custody of them for about 10 minutes and got car sick and had to have the driver pull over 3 times and hurl my guts out (actually mostly dry heaves because there was absolutely nothing in my stomach to throw up). You would think that my puking on the side of the road would make my driver drive a little slower or better or something. Not so. So we were rushed to the train two hours away to make our way back to the capital to finish up. So, I had the kids for 2 hours and then got on a train for 15 hours with them....Not so smart and not so fun. I was so sick, Caden was sick, the train was hot (because God forbid we have some air movement going on in the dead of winter---it was 65 degrees and people were dressed like Eskimos) and we had two bananas, 6 McDonalds chicken nuggests and 2 fig newtons (remember that Caden doesn't eat/chew very well). I am not a crier, but by the end of the train ride, I was in tears. Anyway, we made it back and after a 12 hour paper chase, we got to go to our apartment, where I was so thankful and thought that we would get to rest and such. Well, the bed (the ONLY bed) had bugs in it and they bit Cody and Cole all over while Caden and I were on a food run, so all 4 of us slept on the couch and floor. Caden was too sick to sleep and had a fever, runny nose, diarrhea, shaking all over, banging his head, screaming at the top of his lungs. I swear I think he was withdrawing from some meds. I have been a nurse for a long time and I think that is what was happening. The only thing I had to give him was benedryl and Tylenol. It did nothing for him at all, but after day 2, he was much better. He still isn't eating very well, but he is drinking good with the Honey Bear cup. Cole is doing really well, except that he doesn't like Caden very much. He growls at him if he gets near him and lets him know who is in charge. We have had a couple of trips in time out over that.

Now the fun stuff, the trip home.....Cole had massive, massive, can't explain it in words diarrhea. He pooped so much that we ran out of diapers and the flight attendants had to give us some diapers. It was absolutely unbelievable and disgusting. Remember, I am a nurse and am extremely hard to gross out, but he did it without a doubt. Caden on the other hand was so severely constipated that he was straining constantly and grunting until I thought he was going to pass out. I had to take him to the bathroom on the plane and "help" him use the bathroom, and when he did, Lord have mercy!!!! This child has some serious GI issues. He has a dilated rectum from straining so much and poops like a grown man, a really, really, really, big grown man. He became a different child after our pooping incident. He was laughing and playing and so happy. They both took a 2 hour nap on the long flight and stayed awake the rest of the time. By the time they arrived at their welcome home party, they were both passed out. Cole woke up and entertained the crowd, but Caden slept through the party, through the night, until 9 am this morning. They are both just happy as can be and just walking around like this has been their house forever. (FYI>>>My mother fed Cole an entire hot dog with chili, a whole banana, and a piece of cake when we arrived and I will just let your imagination tell you what happened after that). I will try to update again soon.

Stephanie

Codys view

2010-10-01T02:43:00.001-07:00

First off, I met the first driver. They drive reallllllllllly good but really fast lol. Somehow no one ever wrecks. The first train ride was good and we slept for a whole 17 hours. Sevestapol was fun but I like Kiev more! I sat in the car for 3 days playing tetris in sevestapol which made me a master at it lol. Then I met Anton and David!! Anton loves me and he's very very playful and eats soooooooo much. Well after we got them we went on the train again and then it was awful because we had two babies. When we fell asleep Anton woke up and ate a banana peel trying to get to the banana. It was gross. We didn't get to throw a party at the baby house because we were in such a hurry. My mom had 5 minutes to dress and wash them. After we left the orphanage my mom puked two times in the car. It was funny because yesterday she said, "If I do puke, what would I puke up"? Then when she puked she puked nothing lol! Then when we arrived at Kiev we went to a doctor. This is where Anton decided he loves me :). We played in the room while David (caden) fell asleep. Anton laughs at everything and then when he fell he cried and he hugged and kissed me and then fell asleep. I was like awwwww. The Lewis's daughters there adopting and the mom took care of Caden they're really good with kids and put him to sleep for me. Btw my mom was at the U.S embacy with The dad of the girls so We were alone. Anton pooped and luckily Olga was there to change him :). Olga is really awesome. David (caden) is more of a blob. He just watchs everyone and waits for yogurt lol. My mom is so funny. She can't get any sleep or rest because one of thems always awake. Last night me and Anton took a nap and there was a bed bugs in it so we got bites which is gross. So we all share a couch in this little apartment. Anton growls when he is mad too and it's so funny cause he laughs so much u can't take him serious. Also, he hates david!! lol. My mom already taught David how to drink and swallow but he is so sick. He has the snottiest nose ever and my mom wipes it constantly lol. Right now he is beign fed yogurt (his fave). They are the cutest babies ever and Anton never is bored until he sleeps. David gets mad if u can't feed him yogurt fast enough and says "ba ba ba ba". Anton also says "ba ba ba" but usually growls when he is mad lol. My dad didn't pack Davids clothes so he wears antons which are to big. Anton goes cross-eyed alot so my mom calls him cross-eyed cricket. My mom has gotten 4 hours of sleep. We are about to go to the U.S embacy and get Visas and we leave saturday (tomorrow morning at 5 am). Well David is crying now cause he ate all his yogurt and my mom is taking a picture of his cute crying snot face. They are very happy with us and I think they'll like it better with papa and danielle mamaw cousin elisha and briana and lollie and dale (uncle and aunt).

Off we go again!!!

2010-09-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

Ok..so I know I am a bad blogger. Heck, I even missed days while we were in UA and I had nothing else to do. Well, since we have been home, I have worked at least 12 hours a day, and sometimes 16 hours and I am tired, too tired to try to type something interesting up when there isn't really anything interesting going on here. But anyway, I booked tickets for me and Cody to leave Saturday at 1200 and we should arrive in Ukraine on Sunday at 415 pm. Hopefully, we will go straight to the train station and get to Sevastapol by Monday morning/afternoon and get the paperchase started. I am super excited for Cody to be going with me and I think it will be important for him to experience and see where the boys come from. Plus it will be cool for me and him to get to spend a whole week or so together. I can't wait to see how he does with the food. He is a very particular eater (and a very big eater). He has about 10 different foods that he loves and he eats over and over and over again. He will either change his weary ways or loose some weight while we are there...hehehe!

Anyway, I have been super busy at home, but can't seem to make any progress or get anything done that needs to be done. I have decided that I will not go to bed tonight until the boys room is sleep ready. Their sheets and blankets will be downy soft and their clothes will be all organized and ready to go! I promise this to myself! (It is so much harder than you think)

Now, for how I feel without having Cole and Caden here with me. I hadn't put a lot of thought in it before I had to do it. Leaving them there, knowing that they were not getting the love and things they needed, has tore a hole in me. It would be the exact same as leaving Danielle and Cody somewhere for a month that I knew was a bad situation. I miss them. Sean cleaned out our backpacks and suitcases and I saw there little pack of animal crackers on my dresser and I almost burst into tears. I hope and pray that they are ok and I promise that once I get my hands on them, I will never leave them again. I can't wait to get the home and get theirs lives started here. Please pray that everything goes smoothly and please pray that we get the QUICK passports. The office in Sevastapol will either have the red (fast-1 hour processing) or the blue (slow-4-10 days processing) passports and we won't know until we get there which one they have. PLEASE PLEASE have the red passports available so that we can get the heck out of dodge!

Will try really hard to keep everyone updated! I will leave you with two reasons why we are doing this......Caden thought Cole was getting more yogurt than him!

Stephanie

More Pictures!

2010-09-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

Pictures!!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics that I promised. I will do the rest later!

We made it home safe and sound....17 hours on the train, 3 flights for 22 hours straight (including lay over time) and we are home! Thank GOD!! Very uneventful travel so I will leave you with the pictures.

Stephanie

Court Results!!!!!

2010-09-08T02:09:00.000-07:00

Court has came and went and it was a great success. We arrived at the courthouse at 845 am and were led to a small hall to sit on a bench outside of a room. Some papers were exchanged from our facilitator and the lady in the office and then we were told to wait back on the back. I was so nervous that I ate a whole pack of tic tacs sitting there.

We were then called into the "court room", which was just an office. There was the judge, a transcriptionist, two jurors, the inspector, the facilitator and us. The judge was a pretty woman, about 40 years old, with typical Ukrainian clothing. We immediately started and the first question that was asked to us by the judge was "Do you trust us?" My gut was screaming, uhhh..."No, not really" but my mouth said "yes". Ok...I am 6000 miles away from home, in a small, dark room with complete strangers dressed like strippers, with more money strapped on my body that most of them make in a year's time, and NOW I am starting to get really nervous. I look over at Sean and think "Well, I know he can physically get us out of here if things go south, but what would we do once we got out of the building?" I don't have time to stay nervous because things are proceeding and the judge is talking a hundred miles an hour and Angelina is semi-whispering to us about what she is saying. We had to stand and introduce ourselves (which by the way-is your full name, date of birth, address and occupation). We showed our passports and sat back down. We were then asked if we had our own children and if they were healthy. We said yes and then we were asked a few questions about whether we were aware that these boys were not healthy. Again yes. We were asked what their life would be like, including where they would sleep, etc. Answered and moved on. One of the jurors had a question. She asked "Are the boys going to live in the same house as you or are they going to live in a separate building?" Uhhmmmm....No, they will live in our house and stay with us. Ok. Everyone was happy. Sean finished up the interviews with his one answer. They asked how we were familiar with people with DS and he said that he was raised with his Uncle Mac from the time he was little until the time Mac died and that Mac was his best friend. I heard the bell for the KO. That summed it up and we could have been finished right there, but the inspector wanted to speak. She was very nice and said that she could tell immediately that we would be good parents to the boys because of how we first interacted with them on our first meeting. She said that most kids like ours would be scared and not let us touch them, etc. (plus the fact that they were sleepy and had been awoken from their naps to meet us) but that they came to us and sat on our laps and interacted with us. Then the judge looked at the calendar and said we could come and pick up our decree on September 20 and take them home. Court lasted about 10 minutes and it was over. We thanked them and left.

Thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes. They worked!!! We are now packing up and getting back on the train at 5 pm to go back to Kiev. We will arrive in Kiev at 11 am tomorrow morning. I am not sure what we have to do about the power of attorney at the US Embassy because Angelina thinks it is closed for 9/11, but we will see. Will update as soon as possible.

Stephanie

The Final Countdown!

2010-09-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

Well, it is 9 pm on Tuesday night here in UA. We have court in 12 hours. This is the final countdown. Sean and I went out for dinner and just got home. While waiting for our food, I said, "What if the judge said no and we couldn't get the boys?" Sean looked like he had seen a ghost...he said "Can they do that? Have they done that?" I said, "This is UA; they can do anything they want and I don't know if they have done that before or not." Then, I got to thinking about it....what if they wouldn't let us come home with the boys? My heart broke and I said a quick prayer to plead with God to let things go well at court and let it be quick and easy. Still very scared of the court process.

Since the list was a hit, here are some quick tidbits about the boys....

Caden......

sucks like he has something in his mouth all the time, but refuses to suck a pacifier or bottle or sippy cup.

says "Momma" and tries to get to me anyway he can (crawl, scoot, fall toward me).

LOVES to eat yogurt (strawberry favorite so far).

can pee on the potty.

can take 8 steps sideways holding on to the monkey bars/metal thingy in the playground.

can do 12 crunches/sit ups.

can go from a lying down position to a sitting up position on first try (couldn't do this at all when we got here).

He can hum/sing a song with you.

He is very, very, very ticklish and laughs with his whole body.

He likes to dance.

He can army crawl (but we are not suppose to put him on the ground, but I might have accidently let him and happen to video it at the same time-promise to download video and pics as soon as we get home).

Now, for the big boy...Cole likes...

everything..anything...he doesn't care what you do as long as you are doing it with him.

He runs to us when we go pick him up from his groupa and clearly hugs and KISSES (sometimes with a little tongue action) us when he sees us.

LOVES to swing. They are taken outside almost everyday, and play NEXT to the swing, but we have never seen a child actually in the swing.

loves to eat, so far anything that I have brought from bananas to pudding to yogurt to cookies, crackers...he doesn't care.

Can feed himself with a spoon and holds his own drink, etc.

Will give you five and a thumbs up on request.

Doesn't cry when he gets hurt:::(((

Can say "Poppa" and looks for Sean constantly.

Loves for Sean to throw him up in the air.

Loves for me to hold him very tightly and squeeze on him. Will sit on my lap forever and just let me hold him (as long as I do it firmly).

Has the biggest "outie" belly button in the world.

Is very ticklish.

Is so capable of learning if just given the chance.

Leaving the orphange was much harder to do today than I thought it would be. There have been several incidents that I haven't blogged about that have happened there. Everyday the boys have a new cut, scrape, black eye, something and I don't know how that it is happening. I hope it is just from them being kids and falling down, etc. One incident was when I picked up Cole and he was on the potty, but did not use it. It was horrible. I will blog about it later...after we get them home.

I just pray that God takes care of them and that they will be safe until I come back for them. I will go home this Friday and stay home for about 2 weeks and I am coming back by myself to pick them up. That is kind of scary, but hopefully it will be a very quick trip. Please pray for us as we prepare for the most serious part of our journey-court and picking up!

Stephanie

Not sure what day it is anymore....

2010-09-05T22:29:00.000-07:00

I just want to say to people that are coming over here....bring books, movies, something to do. You can only walk around the city so many times.

Here are some fun Ukraine facts:

For all of you Joe Dirt fans, do not dismay...the mullet and rat tail are alive and well.

Underwear IS an option.

Actually, full clothing IS an option.

Don't worry about laundry....it is overrated!

You CAN drink a beer at 8am while you are walking to work.

Michael Jackson's legacy will carry on for many years, especially his pants.

You can eat pizza, pizza, pizza if you want.

They do NOT sell Skoal (or any type of chewing tobacco) in UA.

If it drops below 80 degrees, you better get your winter coat out.

Borscht (sp) doesn't look good at all, but very, very tasty.

Cokes and drinks are served warm or room temperature.

There is no such thing as free refills.

ANTEKA (with green writing)are pharmacies.

Cars have the right of way no matter what-whether you are on a crosswalk, sidewalk, doesn't matter...

They make high heel shoes for little girls (sexy high heel shoes).

Don't be upset if your husband's purse is bigger than yours.

There is no age limit for sheer clothing.

You can only drink 1/2 cup of coffee at a time, apparently.

Watch the Groundhog Dog before you come.

Stephanie

Ladies and Gentlemen....We have a court date!!!

2010-09-03T04:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks Goodness that we have had a productive day (and it is only 730am at home). We got up, went to see the boys, went to the court house and we finally got a court date!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We go to court on Wednesday, September 8th at 9am and then we can immediately go back to Kiev that day, sign some papers at the US Embassy for Sean to give me power of attorney to complete the adoption by myself and then we can go home on Friday. Praise God! I was so nervous waiting in the car for my translator to come out of the court house, then she got in the car, looking all sad, and said that the judge wanted to take 3 weeks to look at our dossier and paperwork. I was speechless! All I could think of was "at least I am going home now", but then she said she was kidding and told me the real court date! I could have killed her.

I feel so much better knowing we have a planned day that we are leaving and getting out of here. I have to say, though, that this trip could have been so much worse. The weather is fabulous, the apartment is nice, and we haven't had any "real" problems. Yeah, the food is not all that great, but all in all, it has been a nice trip (just a little long for my taste). Having said that, I dread that dang train ride back to Kiev. Definitely going for 1st class and definitely taking all the medicine I can fit in my stomach!

Thanks for the prayers and well wishes and thanks for leaving comments. That really helps when you are stranded on the other side of the world!

Stephanie

Day 17

2010-09-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

Still the same as the previous days...no news. I just called our translator to see if she has heard anything about court. She says that she will call back at 5pm to see if we have a date, but as of right now...no date.

Day 15

2010-08-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry...no news to report. This is definitely a big, drawn out remake of Groundhog Day!!!! We do the same thing everyday, eat the same food, go to same place....boring. But we did manage to walk down to the Black Sea Beach and see people swimming. Oh My..is what I can muster up. The average age of the swimmers were about 75 and the average weight was about 250-300lbs....and the MEN and women both had on speedos. I took pictures. I could not resist. Sean's face was red and it was so funny that we could not stop watching.

I got sick yesterday, really, really, sick...I was planning on going back to the baby house at 3pm, but couldn't even hardly stand up, so I went back into the apartment and slept from 3pm-7am, without getting up. I still don't feel much better this morning.

The visits with the boys are getting better and better. Cole is very smart. He has finally started playing with the toys we bring. He loves to take stuff out and put it back into his Toy Story backpack. He doesn't quite understand the concept of coloring, but he is trying. His pincher grip is not quite as good as Caden's and he has a hard time holding the crayon. This boy loves to eat. I bring him a banana and yogurt every morning. I thought I would change it up a little and see if he liked eggs. I boiled him an egg, brought him some cheese, and a banana. He ate every bite of his and wanted Caden's too. Caden wasn't so impressed. He hated the cheese, tolerated the egg a little, but cried for more yogurt. He only has 4 teeth and doesn't really chew. He just swallows whatever you put in his mouth. I am still very concerned about his fluids. He doesn't drink well at all. I am literally squirting fluid in his mouth from a bottle (he won't suck at all) and getting what I can in him. I have ordered the Honey Bear cups (I think that is what they are called) but I am worried about his hydration. His mouth is so dry. He has never had a wet diaper while we have had him. He is so funny and tired!!!! He falls asleep during our visits almost every time (probably because he is dehydrated). Cole drinks about 12 ounces of fluid every time we see him. I am afraid to give him more because I don't want him to get in trouble for having a wet diaper! How sad is that.

Today is Wednesday, Sept. 1 and we are picking up our translator at the bus station at 930 to go to the court house to see if we can get a court date. Please, please, please pray that we get a quick and easy court date so that we can go home, see our other kids, and catch up on the world. I miss home so badly and my other children are acting out like little babies throwing a fit for their momma! They are in so much trouble when I get home, but after I hug their necks off. So, I will blog later and let everyone know if we have a court date or not. We must get some food today. I was sick and only ate a boiled egg and a banana yesterday and poor Sean just sat here with nothing to eat because I was in bed.

Anyone that has any comments on Caden's fluids, please feel free to leave them. Any tidbits of info would be appreciated and helpful.

Stephanie

Day 12

2010-08-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well...where to start???? We finally have interent access in our apartment....YAY!!!

I guess I will start of the happenings of Friday. We waited and waited on Olga (our facilitator) and Angelina (our translator) to come to Sevastapol. We walked around, went down to the board walk, went to a little flea market, etc. I was really needing a haircut and we passed by a salon and I thought what the heck, so we went it. They said they would cut my hair for 50 grivnas (around $6), so I went for it. I have to tell you, it was the most thorough hair cut I have ever gotten. I thought she would never get done. It is very, very short, but I like it and my hair grows so fast that it will need cut again by the time we get home.

So, anyway, Olga and Angelina call and say let's go. I thought we were just going to the notary to sign some papers. We have been out walking all day, we have on shorts and T-shirts, I just got a haircut and we were all nasty. To our surprise, we have an appointment with the head of the inspector's office, the orphanage director, the inspector and some other person (I forget). We are going to be interviewed by the Head of the Department to see if he will sign our application for a court date. So, here we go in, totally unprepared, look like crap, to talk to a middle age man that speaks no English to see if he will "allow" us to apply for a court date....GREEAATTT. He starts off and ask "why do you all want a child with so many problems?" I mean, how do you answer that..."we don't like easy ones". Seriously, I said that we felt like having these children would enrich our lives and that we have had experience with children and adults with DS and they were all such blessings and even though we know it will be hard work, we feel like the good will outweigh the bad and we will be better off having them. He then asked many, many times about what our families think about it. I told them that they were happy and supportive. He wanted to know how much money we made, what kind of resources would the children have access to and would they be "trainable" for any kind of jobs in America? That last question blew me away. I said that there were places available for people with developmental delays to work, but no specific ones, but that is was more for socialization than money earning potential....Awww, then the last question..."Will you profit from these children? Does your government pay you to have them?" Uhhh...that is a big negative. He looked very sternly for a few minutes, and at first, I thought he was not going to sign the paper. But then he said, "Good luck, and I wish more people were like you all and I hope everything goes well. Please send pictures and updates on the boys and let us know how they are doing." At just like that, it was over.

Now, for the court date. All of the paperwork is completed and we have officially applied for a court date. Olga has been fabulous. She has been talking to the judge way before we even got here trying to work on a court date. The judge goes on vacation for 60 days starting Sept. 1. Another judge will be handling cases while he is out, but NEVER international adoption cases. She has been working her way for several weeks into talking him into letting the other one handle it while he is gone. He said "yes" and so did the other judge, who is described as "good and laid back" by both Olga and Angelina. The new judge will start Sept. 1st and we should have a court date assigned that day. Hopefully it will be this week, but don't know anything for sure yet. FYI-I can't wait for you to be able to see a pic of the court house. It was scary. It looks like an abandoned building with grafitti(sp) and weeds all over it...nice.

Now, to the boys. I don't know if I mentioned the gash on Cole's eye last week, but anyway, he had a huge gash over his eye. Then Friday, he had a big, fat lip. Saturday, we pick him up, and his other eye is now black. So, he has two black eyes, a huge, busted lip and about 20 different scrapes and bruises on him. I have been calling him "Tyson" because he looks like a boxer. His balance is really, really bad and he is quite a danger to himself without careful supervision. He looks so pitiful. He has been so sweet our last visits. He loves to eat, no matter what it is. He sits and just waits for us to bring out the food.

Caden is a ham! He is coming to life before our very eyes. He is completely a different kid since we got here. For the first several days, he did nothing but lay there. No sounds, no emotions, no nothing. Now, he cracks up, he tries to sit up for long periods of time, he stands and dances. He plays with toys! He loves the keys and loves CARS. Little matchbox cars are his favorite thing so far. He laughs and laughs at them. Still having a lot of trouble with his drinking/swallowing. I ordered both boys a Honey Bear cup when I got home from the orphanage today. They are something else when it comes to fluids. Cole can't get enough and Caden chokes to death on one drop. I hope the cups work.

BTW, Cole says "Poppa" when he sees Sean and follows him around like a puppy dog. It is the only word that we have been able to understand so far. And....Caden cries for me when someone holds him. He has done it three times so far and instantly stops crying and starts laughing when I get him. So, I guess the first choices have been made...interesting, I thought it would be opposite.

Well, another trip to the "baby house" today and we will have Groundhog Day again in the big city of Sevastapol. We may change it up a little today and have Pepsi light instead of Coke light....he he he...

Stephanie

Day 10

2010-08-27T00:30:00.001-07:00

Ok....I am still confused on what day it is. We did get our referral for David on Wednesday. We had to go to the SDA at 9 am, back at 2 pm, then back at 530 pm for our referral. I have no idea what or why we had to do that. We went in for our "interview" but they did not ask us any questions or even speak to us, so not sure what the purpose of all of that was...but anyway, we then headed to the dreaded train. Yes, another 17 hours on the train. I made a tragic mistake. I did not take any medicine and it was awful. This was by far the worst of the train rides. I strongly suggest ALWAYS getting a first class ticket, even if it is another $125 more. It is soooo worth it.

Anyway, we arrived back in Sevastapol on Thursday at 1pm. We were met my our driver and our translator and the running began. We went to the inspector's office, the notary, the orphanage, and then back to the inspector's office. For Lydia and Liam's moms.....I asked the orphanage director about them. She said they were both here and both really healthy and happy babies. She also said that we could see them, but they were napping right then. I told her that families were on the way for them and she was so excited. I truly believe the director really cares for the children and wants them to have families. She was tearful when I told her that you all were coming and she said that we could get updated pictures for you all. Hoping that happens soon. I also asked about little Emory. She said that he was well and gaining weight. She also said that he was going back to Kiev in a couple of months to have his colostomy reversed and that they think his GI system will be fairly normal after the next surgery. I can't wait to see all of the babies. It is so weird because you can hear them crying or just making noise, but never see them. Even when I pick David up from his groupa, there are no babies visible. I think they are just all laying in their cribs. So sad.

So, after the running around for paperwork, we took our translator to the bus station. She said all of our paperwork was completed and we could apply for a court date on Friday. She was very excited about this and said it usually takes 7 days to get everything together for a court date, but we did it in one day. I didn't have the heart to tell her that it has been 10 days, not one, but whatever...the paperwork is done and Olga is coming to Sevastapol on Friday to talk to the judge as request a court date. Please Dear God let it be soon. I am so homesick. I miss my Cody and Ducky so bad. I couldn't sleep last night thinking that we were out of our minds leaving our kids behind. I should have insisted that they come with us, but then they would have been miserable with all the travel and plus, they would have missed school. It doesn't help that we haven't had internet access for 3 days and we haven't got to talk to them.

We had our driver take us to a real grocery store and OMG! We found an Ukrainian "Walmart" called "FoxMart". It was hysterical. We bought $75 worth of groceries and it should last us for many days. Our apartment is like out of an Austin Powers movie. The landlord was showing us around so proudly of the lime green and black leopard skin rug, the multicolor dimmer lights, and all of the other funny stuff. I almost lol, but could see that she was extremely proud of all of it. It is nice, though, expect no internet access. She promised to have it fixed by Friday.

So, we haven't seen Anton or David since Monday and we are at coffee shop down the street for the internet access. Hopefully, we will see them today. Cody and Danielle-be on the computer tonight. We will walk down here this evening if the apartment internet is not working.

Last thing, the boys finally have their names...Anton's new name is ...... Cole Elijah Carmichael (tribute to Miss Elisha Janeway) and David's new name is.....Caden Sean Carmichael (tribute to you know who). Will try to update ASAP.

Stephanie

Rest of Day 7, some of Day 8

2010-08-25T00:45:00.000-07:00

I am loosing count of what day I am on, but I am pretty sure it is Day 8. We rode back on the train to Kiev on Monday night. It was 16 hours and it was a first class cabin instead of the 2nd class that we rode the first time. It was much cleaner and more comfy. They had a TV in the cabin, but it only played one channel in Russian, so we didn't really benefit from it. I slept most of the way from my antivert, phenegran, and scopalamine patch combo. Sean hates the train most of all, but he did ok this time.

We made it to Kiev at 9 am on Tuesday and we were greeted at the train station by our driver. He doesn't speak any English, but he is very nice and carries my luggage for me (up and down hundreds of steps). He took us to our apartment, which is pretty nice. It is much bigger than the other places that we have stayed. We paid $75 a night for it. We ate breakfast at McDonalds, which is only about a block from us. We then rested for a while. We ate at a little cafe for dinner. We ordered these fried flour things with cheese in it (meat and cheese for Sean). They tasted like a really greasy grilled cheese. I didn't like it much and won't order it again. The picture looked much better than the food tasted.

The the Nalles called us and we met them at Independence Square. They are adopting Aaron. They were jet lagged, but they were very good company and they showed us around Kiev a little. they have court on Thursday and then again next week. No one has ever adopted any children from where Aaron is, so please pray for them that everything goes smoothly.

Today I wonder if Anton and David missed us visiting them. I wonder if they know that we missed visiting them. I don't think that David cares or not, but I bet Anton was wondering where in the heck we are with his banana, yogurt and water. He also thinks that Sean is his personal servant and play toy. Poor thing won't get to swing until we get back.

We didn't have internet access last night when we got home because the landlord didn't pay the bill, even though we paid our $5 to have it, but it was back on when we got up this morning (Wed). Olga and the driver picked us up at 830 am and then we went to the notary for about 45 minutes for some type of paper to be filled out. We then went to the SDA and officially applied for David's referral. We are suppose to go back at 2 pm and see if we can get the referral today. This process is just so crazy and I can't understand why it is so difficult to get kids that no one wants, that not one person has ever came and visited their entire lives. It just doesn't make sense and the process is so difficult that no wonder that aren't a lot of people trying to adopt these kids.

We did find some funny things on the road to the SDA. I bought some nesting dolls, a Kiev display egg, and wait for it....wait for it....A set of nesting Dallas Cowboy dolls with Tony Romo and other players on it. Sean's face lit up like a Christmas tree. The only thing that could have been better is if they had the triplets on them (Troy Aikman, Michal Irving, and Emmett Smith). Remember my dog's name is Troy Aikman, so can you see the pattern here? LOL!!!

So, here we are waiting for our appointment (that we have already had because they told us about both boys at the first one), to get the same paper that we already have to see the same boys that we have already seen. Crazy! But, it could be so much worse. I have read hundreds of blogs about times in UA and I am thankful for many things. I am thankful that....it is not 105 degrees and the weather is pretty nice, the food is easy and accessible, the region we are staying at has apartments with a/c and internet, the translater in region has a great relationship with everyone involved with the adoption, the boys look healthy and happy, and that we are finally going to start the court process.

May be getting on a train this evening if we get our referral, so may not update for a day or two. Please pray that everything goes smoothly and we get the referral that we need to move forward.

Stephanie

Day 7

2010-08-23T02:00:00.000-07:00

We went to the orphanage for a brief visit today before we head back to Kiev for a couple of days. Anton was so much better today. We brought some pineapple yogurt, bananas and cold water. Both boys ate and ate. Then they played really hard for about an hour and then both of them crashed. Of course, David fell asleep on Sean again. Everytime Sean holds him, he goes to sleep. He is a snuggle bunny. Anton was very sleepy at the end of our visit, also. He just sat in my lap and let me rock him for about 10 minutes and only tried to get my glasses once. That is much better than before.

After the visit, we went and exchanged money, stopped at Mickey D's and got lunch for us and the driver, came back to the apartment to finish packing up to head out at 1pm. I dread this train ride like nothing else. Luckily, I haven't had too much motion sickness while I have been here and I hope that continues.

Will update from Kiev tomorrow.

Stephanie

Day 6

2010-08-23T01:47:00.000-07:00

As Sean said, this is starting to be like the movie "Groundhog Day". We get up at the same time, go to the same driver, go to the same stores, blah, blah, blah.

Today, we got to the orphanage a little early, so we only went to Anton's groupa at first. All of the kids were doing what they are always doing...sitting on a big rug. They have all kinds of toys in cabinets (like curio cabinets) but I have never seen anyone playing with them. It is like they are on display. Anton had a gash over his right eye. It looked like he almost needed stiches, but they had that blue medicine on it. We played outside and he absolutely loves to swing. He is very content just sitting in the swing, even if it is not swinging, but he cracks up if you actually push him in it. He likes to play with the ball a little, but nothing like he likes the swing. We will definitely have to have a swingset when we get home. I fed him some more fruit and let him practice drinking out of a sippy cup today. He does pretty good until he figures out that he can pour the water on his head. He was still a little rough at times, but much better than yesterday. He just gets so excited. He has no idea what to do with all of this attention.

I have decided that David looks like a little monkey. He will wear you down holding him. He doesn't even try to hold any of his weight on his on. He does stand up if you put him on the ground and let him hold on to something, but only for a few minutes. I tried some tummy time with him today and scooted all the way off of the bench. He has the potential, but just needs his muscles built up. Sean rubbed him down with lotion and gave him a deep tissue massage and he passed out! He was out like a light. We knew we would get in trouble with the nannies if they saw him asleep, but couldn't wake him up. He is sooo cute.

Anyway, came back to the apartment and cleaned a little and did some laundry, then went out to eat and back. Nothing exciting to report today, but we are leaving tomorrow afternoon to go to another city 2 hours away to catch the train to Kiev because there are no train tickets available from here. Our train tickets to Sevastapol were $100 for 4 second class tickets, but we are paying $215 for tickets back (that is 2 hours closer) because we are now traveling first class and it is a holiday Monday and Tuesday. It is Independence Day here. It will be interesting to see how they celebrate that.

I will probably not have internet access for a couple of days, but will update soon.

Stephanie

Day 5

2010-08-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Day 5 started off about the same. We got up and went straight to the orphanage. We got Anton first, but they wouldn't let us have David. They said to come back at 9:30 after "yum, yum". He was still waiting his turn to eat and he was not happy. I did finally get to see another baby with DS there. Sorry guys (no Liam or Lydia yet, but our translator is going to ask for us). I saw Evan today and if anyone is considering him, please know that he is a doll! He has the brightest blue eyes that you will ever see. He was sitting and trying to feed himself. The older lady in David's groupa was not very happy at all about us being there and wasn't afraid to let us know, but I didn't care. I just stood right there and waited.

The caregivers in Anton's groupa today asked us to bring diapers to the orphanage. Funny that they are asking for diapers for my "completely potty trained" boy. HA! Anyway, Anton ran out and held his arms up for Sean to pick him up. He is really happy to see us. Poor thing has had on the same outfit, well, actually the same shorts on for three days. Today is the first day that we have seen him with a shirt on. He is pitifully filthy. They definitely need a good scrubbing! Anton was totally wild today. I fed him some fruit and animal crackers and brought him some grape juice. I tried a sippy cup with him and he can't really use it at all, even without the little flapper thing in it. So, I took off the lid and let him use it as a regular cup. He sounded like my English bulldog drinking that juice! It was pretty funny. We will definitely have to work on his drinking. They are both so thirsty.

I don't know if it was the sugar in the juice, or if it was just being a little hydrated, but Anton was like a wild man today. He would grab my face and squeal and run and run and run. You tell that the caregivers were not happy that we just let him run around. I finally went and held his hand and we walked around. He does really well walking while holding your hand, but if you let go, he goes nuts. He did find his way to a poor cat today and put a WWF move on it. Poor Troy (my dog) will have to hide from him for a while. He was much more verbal today and was chatting up a storm, but, of course, we had no idea what he was saying. He listens very well. I patted the bench and told him to sit and he climbed right up and did what I said. He is not quite understanding this new found freedom. I am trying to keep a good balance between letting him have some freedoms that he has never had and not making him want to do more than he is used to and get in trouble in his groupa. The kids in his groupa are soooo cute. That same little boy that cried for us yesterday did the same thing today, but not trying to fight his way to us. Just a real quiet pitiful cry staring at me saying "momma" over and over. It is heart breaking. I am kind of glad that I applied to adopt two or I would probably be bringing him home with me.

We finally got David after yum yum. The lady that hates me should try out for the NFL because she football tossed him to me when I came back to get him. I was kind of stunned and just turned and got the heck out of there with him. They had him dressed in a girl outfit about 3 sizes too big with little girl flowerdy sandals on. He is too funny. I brought him a vibrating teether and he loved that. He picked up on how to make it start and stop pretty quick. I fed him some fruit and juice, too. I tried a bottle and a sippy cup with him. No go~ so I took the lid off to see what he would do. He also drinks like a bulldog!

We didn't stay very long this morning, about 2 hours, and then had our driver take us back to the apartment. The driver had his son with him. He was about 3 or 4 years old. I gave him some cookies and he snatched them from me and kept holding on to the back of his daddy's seat. You would think the driver would be a little more careful with his kid in the car. That would be a wrong assumption. He drove faster today than ever before. The driver had on a seatbelt. The little boy stood in the back seat holding on to the head rest. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when he passed a bus about 70 mph and the bus was leaning on its side toward us. But we made it back (Thank God).

We decided that we would walk around and see the city a little today. We walked and walked and walked. We actually ended up walking all the way to the Black Sea, which is probably about 3 or 4 miles from our apartment. We ate lunch at McDonald's-yes, there is no place on Earth that does not have a Mickey D's. We tried to find a tranfer cable for my camera and diapers. No luck on either. I don't know where in the world people buy diapers and stuff. We probably went in 20 stores, but no luck. There are thousands of stores and people here. This is a "resort" town because of the beach. We went into a Columbia store and it was very nice. Lots of clothes and shoe stores, cell phone stores, and you can buy beer on every corner. Either bottled beer or fresh out of the keg right on the street.

For people coming to Crimea (Sevastapol), please carry your address to your apartment with you at all times. After walking this 3 or 4 mile trek, I was tired and thought we would get a taxi back. Well, I forgot our address paper and had no idea how to tell them where we lived. So, you know what you do???? You get to walk the 3 or 4 miles back!!! Sean was no impressed! Also, the hype about the high heels, etc., forget it! You need some good walking shoes. We have to walk everywhere we go, except for the orphanage, so be prepared. My shorts were hanging on me today. We have probably lost about 10 lbs. or so. Between the first couple of days with no food and all of the walking, you will loose weight! (not complaining)

Anyway, Angelina arranged for our driver to take us to get diapers in the morning before we go to the orphanage and we will see how that goes. I hate it that I can't download any pictures. I will keep looking for a transfer cord. Good night, all!

Stephanie

Day 4

2010-08-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

Day 4 went much, much better than day 3. We got up at 7 am and were showered and out the door at 830 to meet our driver outside. He was a different guy from the day before, but smelled the same. Actually, he was very nice and stopped at a little store for us to get some snacks and drinks to take to the orphange with us.

No one met us at the orphanage, so we were on our own. We walked in and everyone started speaking in Russian/Ukrainian to us. Not one person there understood any English. GREAT!!! I found Anton's groupa and I just kept saying his name over and over again until they brought him to me. He was smiling and happy as could be. They make them switch their shoes to go outside and put a hat on. The caregiver was a were a little rough with him, screaming at him over and over, to what I am assuming was to change his shoes. He did it, though. He went to his locker, got out his outside shoes, sat on a little bench, took off his inside shoes, put on the other shoes, and then put his inside shoes in his locker. Pretty smart, huh? Then we tried to get David. I couldn't understand them and they couldn't understand me, I just kept saying "David, David, David" over and over again. They kept trying to make up go outside with Anton and Anton was already down one flight of steps to get the heck out of there. I finally called our translator and handed them the phone and two minutes later, there was David dressed in girl clothes with a flowerdy hat on! Very cute, but we will have to change his look a little. I brought both of them a black Nike hat to trade in for the girl hats. The whole I was standing there waiting on David, there was about 6 little guys (2 and 3 year olds) staring at us, two of them screaming and crying. One of the little boys was screaming, "Mommmy and Poppy". The caregiver even said he wants a momma and poppa and tried to give him to me. It was awful.

We went outside and played a little. We found strollers and thought we would push them around a little and just walk. The mean lady from the groupa saw Anton in a stroller and ran over and snatched him out. She was not happy that I would let him sit in a stroller when he can walk, so we let Anton push David around for a little while. I brought bananas, animal crackers, and grape juice for them. They loved it. David only has 4 teeth, but can eat if you break it up for him. Neither one knew how to suck on the straw to get the juice, but knew that they liked it and kept coming back for more.

Our visit lasted about 1 1/2 hours and then we left to go pick up our translator and the Inspector to do more paperwork. Anton did not want us to leave and tried very hard to go with us. David could have cared less if we left or not. We went to the notary, done some more paperwork, exchanged some money, then came back to the apartment. I did some laundry (very funny-hung out on a pulley clothesline like in the movies from my window) and we took a nap. We got up and decided we would go explore a bit. We hit pay dirt! We found a nice little restaraunt that had a nice patio. We ordered grilled chicken, grilled pork chops, french fries, and fresh cucumbers and tomatoes plus coffee and coke. It was fabulous and it was only $16 American money! WOO-HOO!

Anyway, we finally have internet, got to Skpye Danielle and Cody and see my little Moochy on video. We are just chilling out and waiting til tomorrow to go for another visit.

Monday and Tuesday are a holiday here, so we can't go to our SDA appointment until Wednesday of next week to get our referral for David. I am very thankful that they are letting us see him and spend time with him without our official paperwork. I am also very thankful for the weather. It has been great today. Only about 80 degrees with winds blowing and you don't feel like you are going to die when you take a breath in.

Will try to update with pictures tomorrow! (promise)

Stephanie

Day 3 (I think.....)

2010-08-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

Day 3 (written yesterday)

Day 3 was filled with absolutely craziness. We went back at 4 pm to the SDA to pick up our referral and we waited, waited, waited, and waited. Surprisingly, there were many families there waiting. In the middle of waiting, Olga thought she and I should “run” to get train tickets and exchange money. Well, in America, when we say run, we mean “go”. Well, Olga meant “run”. Remember now that I am dressed, including shoes, for the SDA appointment, which is not my normal attire. I had on a nice suit and some nice, NEW black dress shoes with a small heel. Well, about 5 minutes into our run, I could feel the blisters on my feet coming on. I had no choice but to have a Tennessee Redneck Moment. Everyone knows how important shoes are to the Ukra*nians; if you don’t-it is the mainstay of their dress. Everyone wears heels. Not just your Sunday church heels, but HEELS! 5 inch stilettos were everywhere. Anyhoo….I had no choice but to take my shoes off and run barefoot through downtown Kiev to purchase train tickets and exchange money. I thought Olga was going to pass out. I assured her that it was ok and that I would prefer to walk barefooted than in those shoes. The result of the 5 minute run-7 blisters! My feet look like I have walked through broken glass.
Anyway, getting the referral for Anton was uneventful. We sat in a little hallway on the infamous brown couch and waited our turn. We were third in line and we showed our passports and signed our name and then we were out the door. After that, we walked about a mile and finally got real food. Now remember, we have been in Kiev for over 36 hours and have only eaten what I brought as snacks up until this point. We ate a place called the “Potato Bar”. It was pretty good. But, at this point, we were not picky. We ate bbq ribs and a potato with butter, cheese, and mushrooms. We bought extra bottles of water there for our train trip. After eating, we went back to the apartment, packed up and were taken to the train station. THE TRAIN STATION WAS FREAKY!!!
We boarded the train at 820pm and did not arrive to our destination until 115pm the next day! For all of you counting, yes that is 17 hours in a 4 X 6 compartment surrounded by several older, scary, big, Russian men. We only left the compartment once and that was to use the bathroom. That is a whole post in itself. After 17 hours of boredom and feeling like we were sitting in a washing machine, I decided I would take a bath and get cleaned up for our arrival to meet our translator. I bathed with diaper wipes, poured our last part of water over my fro to comb my hair, brushed my teeth, and reapplied deo and a little make up. Well, I am glad I did that. Sean did not. He thought we would get picked up, taken to our new apartment and then he would shower, etc. Well, we literally hit the ground running. We went straight to the Inspectors office with our translator, Angelina. Angelina, by the way, is absolutely beautiful! She took us to this room and we were interviewed by the Inspector. They asked why we wanted a child with DS, what our other children thought of it, how many cars we had, and what kind of resources we had for them. I am so glad I got cleaned up before all of this! We had no idea that this would be happening. The Inspector told me to turn around. I was confused at first. I turned around and there were about 10 pictures hanging on the wall behind me and there was Anton when he was about 18 months old looking back at me. We answered the questions satisfactorily and then Angelina said, “Let us go to see the babies.” I said, “Ok…Let us go!” The inspector rode with us and we arrived at the orphanage a few minutes later.

I almost cried when we pulled up to the orphanage. Now remember, I have only had one meal, half a bottle of water, and a couple of pieces of gum in the last 36 hours. I was car sick, hot, hungry, thirsty, dizzy, and nauseated. The “playground” brought tears to my eyes. I will post pictures and more about that later. We got out at the orphanage and met with the Orphanage Director. She was a very nice, older lady. She told me some basic information and then she told us to follow her. We were just following the Inspector, the director, and Angelina. We thought we were going to another room to finish the interview. We walked through the door and there was Anton and David with two caregivers holding them up on a small couch. They were sooooo cute, but soooo sleepy! They had waked them from their nap to come meet us. Anton was so cute and friendly. He immediately came and sat in my lap and grabbed a hold of me and would not let go. He smiled and smiled and smiled. He giggled and was elated that we were there for him. I played with him while Sean was trying to talk to David. David was so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open. The information that we had received about David being able to walk and talk was WRONG. He is tiny! I bet he only wears like a 9-12 months clothes and he can barely hold his little head up. He was like a little rag doll. I wanted to get him from the caregiver, but Anton was firmly planted in my lap and wasn’t having any part of leaving it anytime soon. After several attempts from Sean to take David from the caregiver, I put my hands out to the side and took him while I still had Anton. He is so little! He just melted right into me. He held on to me, too. They have never seen a man before and they were a little intimidated by this huge bearded man. They just looked and looked at him. Finally, Anton, with the insistence of the caregivers, got in the floor and played ball with Sean. He stacked blocks correctly and did everything the caregivers asked of him. David, on the other hand, lay very still in my lap and just wanted to go back to sleep. Our visit was brief-only about 15 minutes and then we were off again. We went back to the inspectors office and then to the train station. We were unable to purchase tickets back to Kiev, so we are going to stay in Sevestopol (sp) for tonight and possibly tomorrow night. We did get to eat again!!!! We went to a pizza place on the Black Sea. We ordered a large pizza, juice, diet coke, chicken salad, and fruit. The chicken salad was awesome or I was starving to death one. It was chicken, cheese, fresh pineapples, and some kind of either sweet mayo or dressing sauce. Very, Very Good! We brought the rest of the pizza and fruit to the apartment with us for supper. We have a nice little apartment, $50 a night, with a/c and they said we have internet connection, but I can’t get it to work. That is why I am writing this and saving it on a word document and I will post it when I get internet. Anyway, we are again exhausted and needing to rest. The driver is picking us up at 830 in the morning to go back to the baby house to see the cutest boys in the world. I will post pictures soon!

1st snag

2010-08-18T04:24:00.000-07:00

Well, we had our SDA appointment this morning. Everything went well during the interview, but they would not give us the referral for both boys at the same time because a family came to Ukraine two weeks ago and got 4 referrals, went to the orphanage, and only choose one child (the healthiest of the four, of course). So they changed the rules that you have to meet the first child and then come back for the second referral. So, hopefully, tonight we will get on a train to Crimea and have an official meeting tomorrow, only to get back on the train, come back to Sunny K, get our second referral, then get back on the train and head back to Crimea. Don't forget that the train ride is 8 hours one way. And also don't forget that I hate trains (just had a death in the family two weeks ago related to a train-but hated them before that)!!!!

Anyway, I found out information about both boys. Anton was left at the nursery when he was born. His parents are wealthy, highly educated and very affluent. They immediately gave up their rights and did not want him. How sad:( But they say he is very healthy, except for some type of small hernia. I cracked up when our facilitator looked at Sean and said "Anton has same face as you, he moves slow like you, and he is plump like you." I was cracking up. Sean refuses to believe that he is the slowest human being in the world and that absolutely confirmed it!

David has "no known father", but his mother is Georgian (an no, not that Georgia). She, too, immediately gave up her rights soon after birth when it was discovered that he had DS. They said that he was healthy, walking, and TALKING!!! He is not two yet, so talking is a huge step for him. He also has some vision issues. Not sure what it is yet. He may need glasses or something.

Olga just goes on and on about how smart they both are. I was ready to bring home two babies, but I think I might be getting two regular boys if it is as she says. She also said that Anton loves to eat. She said he eats very slow and enjoys every bite of it. Sounds like he will fit right in at our house.

Little information on Kiev-EVERYBODY here smokes. We were walking down the street today and everyone looks very angry. Not one smile did we see. We did have a very drunk man ask Sean for money (which was funny), but no friendliness at all. Sean says that is because everyone is hot, dehydrated, and starving to death. We still haven't gotten any food, but I made us some mac'n cheese from home for lunch. We are going to pick up our referral at 3:30 and then get some dinner. We are going to try to find TGIFs because two other RR families are going to be there at 6:30!!!

I would post pics on here, but not quite sure how yet. Wish us luck on the train ride!

Stephanie

We made it!

2010-08-17T20:32:00.001-07:00

Well, we finally made it to Kiev. The trip was interesting. We tried to fill out a declaration form for the money we were carrying in Knoxville when we left on our first trip, but they would not let us. So, when we got to Washington, we literally had to run back and forth from Customs/Immigration back over to another building to get on the plane. They were paging us overhead before out flight left. We got on the plane and got our seats and we took off. The 9 hour flight was so miserable. I slept most of the way, but Sean stayed awake the whole time.

When we arrived, Olga and a driver were waiting on us. We drove from the airport to our apartment. Very interesting drive, plus the driver had the "a/c" on, but just had it on defrost, so it was over 100 degrees in the car. Olga and the driver were sitting in the front seat and we were in the back. They sat in the hot car with the windows rolled up like it was normal. We were dying!

The apartment building that we are staying at is very scary on the outside and the climb up the stairs were freaking me out, but the apartment is ok. It has a small window a/c in the bedroom that barely works, but it does knock the edge off of the heat.

I thought we would go to the store and get some food last night when Olga was brought back our phone, but we did not get to go. We fell asleep and didn't hear her when she first came back, so we had pb and crackers for dinner. Olga did go get us a couple of bottles of water.

Our SDA appointment is in two hours and after that, we are DEFINITELY going to the store and to get something to eat. Sean made fun of me for packing so many snacks, but he isn't laughing too hard now. I brought us oatmeal for breakfast and we will make due until we can get to real food. Maybe we will loose some weight....probably not though.

I will try to update after we get back today!

We are off!!!!

2010-08-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in my eerily quite house waiting to wake the kids up to get ready to leave for the airport. I have made at least 100 checklists in my mind and then rechecked. I am not usually like that. My philosophy is usually..."if I need it, I will stop at Walmart and get it when I get there." Well, seeing that the nearest Walmart is over 4500 miles away, that's going to be a small problem!

I can not decide whether to take the boys their stuff in case we happen to luck out and get a very quick court date and I decide to stay. That is a lot of gear to bring for a "just in case", but I think I am going to go ahead and bring it. What if I get over there and they just hand them to me and tell me and I can leave and all I have to travel with is two T-shirts????

Anyway, I am very nervous about the travel. I hate airplanes and am pretty sure that I will hate the train just as much. I have already taken some antivert, clarinex, scop-patch, and I have phenegran on standby! I may be too drunk to get on the plane.

I probably won't be able to post for several days. It takes at least a day to get where I am going and I don't know if we will have internet service or not. I will try to update daily. Please pray for safe travel and that everything goes smoothly!

Flights are booked!

2010-07-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

I have booked our flights for EE. We leave on August 16th and will hopefully return by September 6th, but have no idea if that is anywhere near close. We won't know for sure until we are in country and receive our court date. Our date that we have now is for our SDA appointment for our official referral of the kids. It is just the first step in the process. The tickets cost a whopping $3200!!! Wow! I about passed out!

Anyway, shopped a little tonight and got Danielle and Cody all of their school supplies, ordered Cody's uniforms online to be delivered, and all we are in need of now is Danielle's books and Cody a new pair of shoes and a new backpack. I am going to print off all of our documents that we need for travel and get that marked off of my list and I have started ordering making lists. So much to do that I don't really know where to start!!! Also, my last test for school is Sunday and I am officially done with everything by the end of the week!!!!YAY!!! Pretty good timing, huh?

SDA appointment

2010-07-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

Finally, we have our SDA appointment. It is August 18th. Now, the race is on. I am finishing up school this week. I have to be in Nashville August 9-11th for a seminar, Cody starts back to school August 17th, and Danielle starts college August 28th. I haven't ordered our money, made a packing list, secured who is going to be where and when. There is so much to do that I don't know where to start. Not to mention that I am suppose to be finding a new job and applying for my certification for the FNP. Anyway, it will all come out in the wash. I will leave you with a few cute pics....

We are officially submitted!!!

2010-07-15T18:05:00.001-07:00

I know I haven't posted lately, but there wasn't really anything to post....until today. I received an email that stated that our dossier has been officially submitted to EE and we are just waiting on a travel date....YAY!!!

Will post more details as I find them out.

Stephanie

Ladies and Gentlemen......dossier has landed in (well, you know where)

2010-06-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

I sent my dossier to Victoria (director of adoption agency) for her to inspect first hand and I thought she would then send it back to me for me to mail to that certain little country to start the process of getting an appointment with the SDA. Well, I shot off an email asking how the process was coming along and she sent me an email back with a tracking number from FedEx. OMGosh!!! My dossier has been mailed. I know that doesn't sound like a great big deal, but you have to understand that I have been working on documents, getting my house inspected, getting my body inspected (including testing for HIV, TB, you name it) and focusing on this dossier for 8 months.

So, hopefully the dossier will be submitted the last week in June and we will get a travel date for early August. I should be completely finished with school by then. It is funny how I think of school now. I have been literally waiting for years to complete my master's degree and become a Family Nurse Practitioner. I have been dreaming of the day that this happens. While it is still important, and I am proud of myself for completing this, it pales in comparison to actually getting the boys. It used to consume me of finishing as many classes as possible so that I could be closer to my goal; now my goal is to finish so I can get them home. It is such a funny journey.

Waiting on the Green Light!

2010-06-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

The adoption agency has my dossier in their hands. The director is suppose to look over the entire dossier today and let me know if it is ok to send to the boys country. I am so excited!!!

I haven't been blogging much because I feel I have been at at stand still for so long now. I am super stressed this week. Danielle started a new job and I am trying to get all of her admission stuff done for college. My last semester of school started this week, so I am doing clinicals on top of working full time. I enjoy the clinical time, but it cuts down on my ability to work overtime and thus, decreases the amount of money I can make. But I have a sense of calmness on top of all that anxiety. If worse comes to worse, we can eat PB sandwiches everyday and travel as light as possible on the funds that we do have. I would love to know exactly when we are traveling so that I would know exactly how much the plane tickets are going to cost. I still haven't decided on to stay in country or not. I could come home and work a couple of extra weeks while we are waiting on the 10 day waiting period to be over. That would (1) give us some extra money and (2) allow me to stay home a little longer when they actually get here. I guess we will just wait and see what happens. In the meantime, I am trying to finish all of the school work up as quick as possible. I am getting as many clinical hours done as humanly possible so that I can pick up some OT for the last couple of weeks in July and I am TIRED!!!!!
I will post more when I hear from the agency about the status of our dossier!

I can see the finish line....

2010-06-04T13:01:00.001-07:00

O.K., after months and months of paper chasing, painting, sleep deprivation, etc., I think I am officially done with the dossier. I am a very organized, task oriented person, so I never dreamed of how much work (both mentally and physically) compiling the dossier would be. I sent the last set of documents to Nashville on Wednesday and I am hoping to get them back by Monday or Tuesday to send to EE to submit for a travel date. Can you believe it?

Now, I just need to finish finding the rest of the money. I think we have enough money to do our first trip (I would love to stay over there, but need to work in between trips for the extra money). We have almost all that we need. I have read that a lot of families do it much cheaper than the projected amount from RR and I am so hoping and praying that is true. I don't have anything else left to sell. Danielle's car tearing up and costing us $3500 really put a dent on our travel money. I am hoping that the plane tickets are closer to $1200 instead of the $2000 that I have been hearing about. Anyway, I will find the money somehow. I am already working every hour that I can, but school starts back next week for me and that will cut down on the amount of hours that I am able to get in. I haven't seen poor Sean in several days because he has been working from daylight to dark to try to earn the money. Please pray for us that something will come up and we will have the money when the time comes.

Roadblocks and Stumbles

2010-05-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

I don't know where to start with this blogging stuff....I am so sad right now. I have a daily routine of checking other people's blog that have adopted from RR. One of the cutest little Serbian princesses died this morning. Her name was Chrissy and she was five years old. She came home to her forever family last October. When I read that she had passed, I just kind of froze and didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to pray for. I didn't know how to respond at all. Her story has been very inspirational and very important to me on a very deep personal note and her mother has no idea how profoundly her posts about God has affected me and I, am sure, others. While her child was lying there fighting for her life, her mother turned it over completely to God and knew that he was is in total control and that she would follow him no matter what the outcome. That is the best act of faith I have ever seen. There was no crying out to ask "Why" or "what if". It was just pure faith and love in Christ and she is a great testimony to God's work. I hope and pray that this family will find peace and I am sure they will.

On the adoption front for my two boys, I am still waiting on the social worker's license before starting the rush to get everything sent over to EE. It is kind of a good thing that I have this delay. I know that sounds awful, but I start school back on June 7th and it ends the last week of July or first week of August and I would LOVE to be done with all of that before making my trip there. That way I can totally focus on them and their transition.

I am just kind of blah today. No energy and no motivation. I read a lot of blogs today and it seems like there are so many roadblocks for everyone trying to bring these kids home. I just don't understand why things have to be so difficult. I see people with broken hearts because they need to redo one more paper and it is just crazy. I know it will work out in the end, but for now, it is very disturbing to see the mountains that everyone must climb to get to these kids that noone else wants.

I will update as soon as I have all of my papers done and ready to ship. I hope everyone has a productive week!

Look who went to a party today....

2010-05-11T17:45:00.000-07:00

there was a party today at David's and Anton's orphanage in David's groupa and Mary Malone was kind enough to send me some pictures...Isn't he so cute? Mary has seen Anton a couple of times and says that we looks good, but she is unable to get pictures because he is in a different groupa. Mary is adopting the cutest little girl I have ever seen (Eliana/Ruslana) and she has been fabulous in sharing information and pictures with me. I cannot express how much I appreciate it.

On the dossier homefront, I have everything except the new proof of property form and the social worker's new license. Her current license expires May 31, and we need the new one. Olga (our facilitator in Ukraine) is looking over everything and making sure it is ok before I mail it to her. I hope she looks at it very well because it is so expensive to remail things. I would hate to do that twice.

So, for now I will wait patiently and try to get everything in the house ready for two little maniacs!

The Golden Ticket Has Arrived!!!!!

2010-05-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, I received the golden ticket in the mail today. I also received the updatted version of the homestudy. I think I have everything I need to submit my dossier to that certain little country. I should be happy, excited, etc. Right???? Well, I am, but now I am really scared to death. Now, we have been approved to adopt and bring these boys home. Now, it is really REAL! But the fear and doubt will not win this internal battle that I am having with myself. I know that this is exactly what we are suppose to do and this is part of something that is bigger than me, bigger than my fear and bigger than anything I know.

So, I will scan everything to my adoption agency, have her scan/fax/somehow get it electronically to the Ukraine for final approval before sending it on its way.

Thanks to everyone who has sent prayers up for our approval process.

Wish us luck on our fundraising yard sale tomorrow and Saturday!

New Pic of David

2010-04-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

Now you tell me that this isn't the cutest thing that you have ever seen, girl clothes and all? This is a new picture of David that I received this morning. I very rarely check my email at work, but decided to this morning for some reason and this was on here! Can you believe that? I wish I had one of Anton/Cole, but only got this one, but boy was it a spirit lifter.

Still Waiting

2010-04-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got a response from USCIS....but it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. They wanted more information to approve our application. I have never been so disappointed in my life. I thought for sure when I opened the email that it was telling us that we were approved and they would be sending our letter out. But that is okay. I got the information they requested and mailed it to them and hopefully that will give them everything they need for approval.

Secondly, I heard from our adoption agency that some of our homestudy would need to be reworded. I keep trying really hard not to get frustrated, but it is hard not to. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal and hopefully that will work itself out, too. Anyway, not really much to update on. Still playing the waiting game.