Pics of us around Kiev

The view from our apartment.

The tiny toilet room.

The square. And is that Jimmy Smits peeking out of that billboard?

Rachel in the living room, where we also slept because the random bed in there was more comfy than the bed in the actual bedroom.

Our kitchen.

TGIFridays... yep, we ate there last night. It was just as weird here as in America.

The bedroom, where we did not sleep.

Here is Rachel down by the Square

Rachel in front of our apartment building... We think the red and white tape means watch out for icicles.

The view from our kitchen window.

We've got this steel door outside our regular door to our apartment.

Apartments next door.

Yes, even in Kiev.

Dave down by the square.

Danger! Icicles overhead!

Rachel liked these trees... and yes, we found a Gap. We had an unfortunate incident with laundry where the fact that water temps are in Celsius here, so Rachel basically boiled a few items.

This car had apparently been here a while.

Pretty building with a Hotel behind it.

More buildings. I am amazed at the architecture here.

Dave found a Times Square-esque big screen.

And another building.

Today

I know the day is just beginning in the US, but here it's already mid-afternoon! We have had a wonderful day! I can't really share the details on here, but I will share this picture.

You will notice some people made from play-doh... One wearing a dress made by a child who knew better than I how to make a play-doh dress. And then there is the creeper man made by a grown up that is like Gumbi with his mouth duct taped closed.

In any case, we will share more with everyone when we're home, but it looks as though we will be leaving to go home on Friday and will return to Kiev at the end of February. We're excited to be home and be with the kids, but excited to come back. Prayer requests at this time:

1) Safe, timely, and uneventful travel home.

2) For God's provision and blessing during our time apart from our son. That he might understand what's happening. That no one else will pursue adoption of him.

3) That we can learn some Russian ASAP! I knew I should have taken that in college...

4) That God will provide the extra money we need for the extra flights etc that we've had to make. We had what we needed before, and we know that God is faithful to provide what we need.

5) Just praising the Lord for His faithfulness and mercy!

6) For his orphanage... It is run by truly wonderful people who have such love and compassion for the children they serve! I pray that they may continue their good work, and that more orphanages would endeavor to be like they are.

What to do...

We had our appointment this morning with the SDA. It was very difficult for me. The child we came here intending to adopt is not available until the middle of February and they cannot provide us with the date. They also cannot guarantee that we can adopt him if and when we come back. We were shown other pictures of children available, and my heart breaks that I felt like we should say no. I felt like we came here for him... It's difficult to explain, but I am hoping that God will provide a way and lead us to His will. I cannot tell you how I feel right now, and my heart is heavy knowing that I may be leaving here without our son. I am reminded of Jeremiah 29 when the Lord says "I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". My son needs a future beyond what he will get in the orphanage. He needs a family and a future that is based upon the grace of the Everlasting Father.

Made it to Kiev!

We finally arrived today in Kiev. It's weird to me how quickly I have turned around my sleep pattern. I haven't been too tired, but my appetite is weird. I am not sure if I skipped a step at the Ukraine airport customs, but it really was no big deal. I imagined long lines and terrible waits, but we kind of sailed right through, and saw S right off the bat when leaving the area. We made it to our apartment, went to the store, and now we're just hanging out. Funny enough there is a TGI Friday's right around the corner. We also saw the Gap, and Avon store, and Chanel. Anyway, the appt tomorrow is at 9 AM here, so around 1 AM at home. I am sure no one will be up around then, but if you are or want to tonight, say a prayer that things go smoothly.

Our trip so far...

Has been interesting. The domestic flights went fine, although the fact we had to go through security again at the Miami airport wasn't cool. If you are going to your connecting flight, you shouldn't have to do that. Our plane from Miami to Frankfurt was really cool and huge. It is apparently the largest passenger plane in the world, the Airbus A380-800. The dude sitting next to us was from Istanbul. He spoke some English, and I asked him if he liked basketball. He said "Hedo Turkoglu - Orlando Magic? Mehmet Okur?" I asked him about Enes Kanter but he didn't seem to know who he was.

Anyway, we had to go through security again in Germany. We ended up roaming all over the Frankfurt airport because they kept changing our departing gate number. Luckily, every German we have encountered speaks perfect English. Many of them speak a bizarre mixture or English and German to each other. When it was time to depart for our flight we had to board a bus and drive for several minutes down runways and stuff until we got to our aircraft. It was weird. Then, right as our two and a half hour flight was touching down in Kiev - literally 15 feet from the snowy runway - the pilot gunned the engines and ascended back into the sky. He said it was too dangerous and flew us all the way back to Frankfurt. We are currently there now, in a hotel room the airline paid for, waiting for our flight in the morning. At least we get to sleep. We are both exhausted from traveling for over 30 hours straight. As another interesting side point, the man sitting next to us on the flight from Frankfurt to Kiev (and subsequently back to Frankfurt), told us he judged cat shows for a living. He travels literally all around the world, goes to annual meetings, and judges cat shows. He also had a penchant for the "s" word. Needless to say, it was entertaining. He also confirmed what we have read about, talked about and suspected, that orphans don't get much of a fair shake after they "graduate". He talked about how there was no one for them, but also seemed a little curious as to why we would want to adopt from Ukraine. In any case, I hope we get to Kiev tomorrow!

I was a little disappointed in Big Blue Nation. I wore a UK shirt because I almost always run into a least one fellow fan in airports. We went through Birmingham, Houston, Miami, and now Frankfurt without seeing one other UK fan. What's up with that?

Prayer requests now:
1) That we and all our luggage would make it to Kiev tomorrow, and there would be no delays or setbacks. Our appointment is Tuesday.

2) That our appointment would go well and we can obtain the referral.

3) That we can navigate smoothly through this system.

4) That the Lord would continue to prepare our hearts and Asher's heart for us.

5) For the separation from our kids. This is very difficult for Rachel and Addie especially.

Thanks for your continued support.

Not to worry...

I guess anxiety and fear are a part of the process... But over the past couple days I have been thinking over the separation from the kids, and thinking over all of the unknowns. As we prepare over the next couple days for our trip, I am reminded that my "sense of security" really doesn't come from knowing what's going to happen next, but who holds my security in His hands. I don't know how long it will be before I see my kids in person again, or how long it will be before I sleep in my bed again, or what the first time I meet my child will be like, but God does. This is just so far out of my comfort zone... All these vague plans and ideas. But I think this is part of what I have to give in order to receive the "blessing".

We're going!!!

I cannot believe it! Yesterday we got our invitation to come to Ukraine, and we only have 9 more days until we leave. This week the Lord has provided ALL of the cash we need for our travel. I am sure we will incur some other expenses, but this has been a HUGE thing for us, and has to be from God. At 10 AM yesterday we got the call from our Social Worker, and we were both completely shocked that the appointment was only thirteen days away. Later we found out that we had an additional donation in our Lifesong account that covered the rest of the money we needed on hand for the trip. I can't explain the feelings we have right now... Excitement over meeting our son, sadness that our family will be separated for a time, anxiety over the travel and appointments, but at the same time just peace that we're doing what we know we have to do.

Prayer requests at this time:
1) Safe travel for Dave and I! That everything will go smoothly and there will be no delays or problems. Safety once we're there!
2) Health for us and the girls. No sicknesses for anyone during this time.
3) For peace for us and the girls for the time we're apart.
4) for quick God-driven bonding with our son!
5) an expeditious adoption process! Everything else has gone so quickly, and I am praying this will continue, and we can complete it in less than the average 35 days.
6) Safety for the girls and my parents and sisters during this time.
7) and that the peace of God will be with each of us!

Thank you so much for your continued support, and we will continue to update during our trip, and will upload pictures as soon as we're able!

Man, I need to update!

We seem to be in one of those "hurry up and wait" patterns at the moment. Our dossier was submitted successfully, and our USCIS immigration has been approved. So right now, we're just waiting on approval and invitation from the Ukrainian government. In the meantime, we have been sending letters out to family and friends to let them know about the adoption, as well as to ask for support both in prayer, emotionally, and financially. We have also been preparing our home, and prayerfully considering what the Lord is asking of us. After praying, thinking, and talking with others, we made the decision that once we are in Ukraine we will petition to adopt a little boy. We know some of his background and a little about his personality, and we already feel like he's ours. His name will be Asher Samuel. Most likely we will incorporate his Ukrainian name into his name, but we're not allowed to divulge that at this point. We chose the name Asher because it's meaning is "blessing" or "happy". If you could have seen the pictures of his sweet smile, you would know why this seems so apt. Addie is so ready for him to be here. With money she got for Christmas, she bought him some toys and crayons, and has placed them in his room, which we also completed over the holidays. So right now, we're just waiting for the word that we can come get our boy! Right now, we need prayer for the following:


1) That Dave, the girls, and I will be prepared for the separation we will have to endure for a few weeks while we go over initially to complete the court dates and referral. I have never been away from my kids for longer than a few days, and this is really getting me down. I know we'll have Skype, but still... I will miss being able to hold them, kiss, them and just be near them.


2) That the Lord will provide protection for us, both physically in health and well-being , and spiritually. There is nothing more that our enemy hates than family, and I know he is going to do everything he can to stop us.


3) That the Lord will be preparing our hearts and Asher's heart to bond us together as a family.


4) That God will provide the rest of the money that we need. We're getting closer, but not quite there yet. We had been so worried, but from the least likely source, we got a very generous gift at Christmas.


5)... And anything else the Lord places on your hearts for us. We're trying to follow what He wants from us, and sometimes our own selves get in the way. But the Lord is faithful to give us more than we have asked or imagined, if we can just set ourselves aside.


Thanks so much for your prayers!!!


Here is a picture of Asher's completed room. Of course he has a UK pillow pet and UK jacket we got him already. Gotta raise this boy right!