Hey

Hi Folks,

I'm sure you're wondering what has become of me. It's been a stressful few days. I got here on Wed. night and we spent all day Thurs., Friday, and Sat. running down paperwork. After some confusion, I was allowed to pick up Masha on Friday night. Let's say our first day together was not great. She said "No" to everything I asked her. I couldn't help thinking, "What have we done?" I got back to Ann and Bill's house and had a great talk with them. I then called Mike and Brynn and they all convinced me that I needed a good night's sleep and that would help. The biggest problem is with her passport. They can't tell me when it will be ready. It could be a week or two or three. The passport office is closed for a while because they're moving. They say it will open next week but anyone who knows the Ukrainian govt. knows this is nothing you can count on. The thought of being here indefinitely without the rest of my immediate family was more that I could bear. Also, the system here is disheartening. I felt so beaten down. After much thought and consideration, I have decided to head back to America and Mike will come and finish up the paperwork and bring Masha home. While we're waiting for the paperwork to be finished, Masha will stay with Ann and Bill and their great church friends. Masha looks at Ann and Bill as grandparents and she loves the young girls from their church. I kow it's not the ideal solution but it's the best I can come up with. I worry about Viktor if I'm gone for weeks more. Though I'm grateful to all those who have pitched in and helped, it's hard on him to go from place to place. I will be home Wed. night and will need a few days to settle back in. Masha is fine with it all since she doesn't know how it's supposed to work anyways. She is happy to hang out with her new "family" and friends. I am so thankful to them for their generosity. As long as she knows she's going to America sometime, she's okay. Oh, she's also made great behavioral gains already in just 2 days. She doesn't have tantrums and gets over things easily. Things she was saying no to a few days ago she now does without being asked. There's hope!!!
Thanks again for all your support and prayers. It helped me tremendously when I was feeling down. I am not wearing glasses as I write this, so forgive the typos.

I'm Back

I just arrived in Kiev this afternoon. I took a taxi to Ann and Bill's house. I will be picked up tomorrow morning by Olga, my translator, and Sasha, the driver. We will spend the day driving to the town Masha's orphanage is in to get the court decree. We then head to the town of her birth, which is south of Odessa, to get her original birth certificate and have a new one issued. After that, we will head back to Odessa to pick up Masha. We will spend the night in Odessa and then head back to Kiev on Friday to handle the medical exams and visa/passport stuff. Since Monday is a holiday, I probably won't finish up until Tues. or Wed. I hope to be heading home by Wed. or Thurs. I'll let you know how tomorrow goes.

Going Back

I am heading back to Ukraine tomorrow to pick up Masha.  I will arrive on Wed.  I am lucky to be able to stay with my friends Ann and Bill while in Kiev.  Since Mike won't be with me, this is a God send!  On Thursday, I will go with our translator and a driver to the region where Masha is, which is Odessa.  We will spend the entire day getting paperwork done-picking up the court decree, getting her new birth certificate, etc.  I will then go and pick Masha up.  We will travel back to Kiev to complete the medical exams and get her passport.  I am hoping to be there a week.  The one thing that could keep us there longer is the passport.  That can take anywhere from 1-9 days to get.  Please keep your fingers crossed for us on that one.  I will be posting as often as I can.  It all depends on the availability of internet cafes!

Getting Things Done

I have been home for 3 days.  I really needed this time to rejuvenate.  I spent my first day home doing laundry.  I've never been so glad to use a washer AND dryer in my life!  I spent my second day  shopping for clothes for Masha.  Most of the clothes that were donated to us will not fit her.  She is most definitely not as small as most Ukranian girls her age.  Her dresser in now stocked with adorable outfits.  I forgot how much I love shopping for girls' clothes!  I just found out that I will be returning to Kiev on Wed., Aug. 27 and be in the Odessa region on Aug. 28 getting the court decree, birth certificate, passport, and, of course, Masha.  If all goes well, I'll be there less than a week.  But I know I can't count on anything going as planned.  I really am not looking forward to the traveling part of my return trip but can't wait to get Masha home.  I'll keep you posted.

Cathy

3 more days

Brynn and I are counting the hours until we get home. Cathy and Viktor left yesterday and are home now. Since I will not be returning to pick up Maria, I needed to stay until Monday to sign some paperwork at the US Embassy. Brynn agreed to stay the extra few days to keep me company. We fly out on Tuesday.
Yesterday after Cathy and Viktor left, we spent the 1st part of the day trying to catch some of the Olympics. Not very good coverage on CNN or the BBC ( The only two English stations) so we watched it on a Ukrainian station. In the afternoon we went to Ann and Bill's apartment to pick up some luggage we had asked them to hold for us. They invited us to dinner at Papa John's Pizza along with their son Jake who was visiting them for the past 2 weeks and was leaving the next morning. Three of their Ukrainian friends also came along and we ended up spending the entire evening with them on a walking tour. It was a great way to spend the evening and help pass the time.
We are both looking forward to getting home.

On our way home

The paperwork was finished on time and we were able to keep our court date! The judge approved the adoption and now we only have the 10 days to wait for it to be official. Cathy and Viktor are on a plane home, and will be in California Saturday night. Mike and Brynn will be in Kiev until Tuesday to deal with the remaining paperwork. They are bored.

Luckily, their apartment is nice and gets CNN and BBC- so they can watch the Olympics in English.


Go Michael Phelps!!!

She is Excited!

We are still waiting to hear officially that our court date is tomorrow at 3:30.  The SDA is supposed to have the paperwork ready by 3:00 this afternoon.  If it's ready, we have a court date. If not, it won't be until next week.  

We went to see Maria today for what we believe will be the last time for a few weeks.  Although we felt as if she understood she would be coming to America with us, we weren't sure how she felt about it.  Before we left today, we had our translator call her and explain things to her.  As she was talking on the phone, she started to get more and more animated and excited.  She kept saying, "Da!"  When she hung up, she started dancing around.  The translator then told me that she knew we were flying to American and wanted to know if she would be going.  When she told her that she would be going in about two weeks, she was so happy.  She ran into the building and started telling the workers and the other kids.  She came back to me to check that she would really be flying on the plane with me in two weeks.  Again, she took off telling anyone who would listen.  All I could understand was "America!"  So, I guess we passed the test.  We are spending today getting things packed for our trip to Kotovsk tomorrow morning.  After the court date we will head directly to Kiev.  

Keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers, especially that Masha will be at peace these next few weeks as she awaits her journey to her new life.

Left Out a Detail

I just realized that some of you may be confused as to why we aren't going to see her for a few weeks.  My original plan was to stay in Ukraine during the 10 day wait between the court proceedings and when we can pick her up and take her.  In Ukraine, you have to wait 10 days after the court date to pick up the court decree and your child.  You then spend a few days taking care of Embassy things.  I have decided to go home during that time and come back.  Mike needs to get to work so I would be here alone.  I thought I could do it but realized I don't really want to.  The biggest problem is the language barrier.  With Brynn here is was doable.  With her gone, my 5 word Russian vocabulary just won't cut it.  Plus I miss my washer and dryer, books in English, watching the Olympics in English, etc., etc.  

A Great Visit

Hi All,

We went to visit Masha for what we thought could be the last time before the court date on Friday.  As you remember, when we last left her she was pouting about the iPod.  We weren't sure how she would receive us or interact today.  We needn't have worried.  Today was the best day ever.  She smiled as soon as she saw as and never once asked for the iPod or pouted.  We brought a ball and a few games we found in Russian.  She really enjoyed those.  The only problem we had was when some of the other kids wanted to play with us and she got very possessive.  We had to let her know it was okay for them to play.  She finally accepted it, though she didn't love the idea. It just felt less forced today.  It's so hard when you don't speak each other's language.  I'm sure she thinks we're stupid Americans.  It also was clear for the first time that she understands she is going to America with us and seems happy about it.  Two funny stories.  I was drawing her feet so I can buy her some shoes.  I asked her what kind of shoes she wants.  She got excited, said something in Russian and then went "click, click, click".  She wants heels-just like all the other Ukranian women!  No matter the weather or the types of streets, all Ukranian women wear high heels.  I think I am the only woman wearing tennis shoes.  Won't she be surprised when I bring her some cute flat sandals!!  We also brought along a few articles of clothing to try on for size.  Unfortunately, most are too small for her.  There was one Little Mermaid nightgown that just barely looked like it would fit her.  She grabbed it and ran to her room.  We had told her it was for sleeping but she didn't care.  Within moments she was back wearing the nightgown, which is probably one or two sizes too small.   Of course, we have pictures!  When it was time to go, we thought we would try to squeeze in one more visit for the day after tomorrow.  Brynn asked in Russian.  Masha then started saying, "Zaftra!"  That means tomorrow.  The worker smiled and said to come whenever we wanted.  So we'll go on Wed. and Thurs.  I will have our translator talk to Masha on the phone on Thurs. before we leave in order to explain to her why we won't be back for a few weeks.  We left feeling very positive about how things are going.  Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers.

Strays

I am sitting her at a street cafe and thought I should let you know about all the stray cats and dogs here.  They are everywhere.  Bob Barker would be horrified that they don't spay and neuter.  Cats are always walking around the cafes and people just act as if it's nothing.  Dogs run around the streets, many times in packs.  I've never seen anyone approach them or try to prevent all the strays from roaming the streets.  I have no idea where they get their food .  I actually think the people here love the animals and this is all they know to do for all of them.  At our not so nice apartment there were at least 10 cats and kittens living in the courtyard.  Viktor made fast friends with them and even gave them names.  When we left, he had to say goodbye to them all.  I will have Brynn get some pictures.  Weird.

Finally, a Computer!

Hi Folks,

By now you are probably wondering what has become of us these past few days.  It all boils down to location, location, location.  We moved to a new place.  At first we were told a house by the Black Sea.  It ended up being an apt. in a bad neighborhood.  It was a long walk from the center of Odessa, which is very nice.  We had no access to internet, the tv didn't work,  and we felt so cut off from everything.  The only highlight to Sat. and Sun. was that we were finally able to visit with Maria.  We spent about 2 1/2 hours with her each day.  She seemed very glad to see us.  Our assessment of her personality so far is she's outgoing, friendly, spunky (oh no!) and bright.  We were led to believe that she hadn't been to school much.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that she reads and writes well in Russian.  Brynn was reading with her and said she is fluent in Russian-yippee! We did encounter our first problem with her.  We let her listen to our iPod-she loves music!  She kept asking if she could keep it and we said, "No."  When we were getting ready to leave, we had her give it back to us.  She started to pout.  But that was it-no crying or tantrums!!!!!  It was funny because one of the workers saw that she was pouting as we were leaving and assumed it was because she was sad we were going.  Little did she know.  We were not able to visit with her today so are hoping she will miss us and think about how we won't give her anything she wants.  She kept saying that because she said please we should give it to her.  Oh, she has so much to learn.  Any other time she was doing something and we asked her to stop, she did it immediately.  She also shared very well with Viktor.  All in all, I think we can work with it.

A Lazy Day

Since we weren't able to visit with Maria, we decided to just wander the city and see what we'd discover. We had breakfast at a street cafe. It was very good. It's so helpful to have Brynn here to do some translating. Even with her limited Russian, our orders sometimes get a little mixed up.

We then walked a few blocks up to see the Opera House. It is a beautiful building which is surrounded by many other beautiful buildings. A path behind the Opera House parallels the Black Sea. We took that path and discovered Potemkin Steps. These are 10 sets of 19 steps that take you down to the Odessa port. It is definitely a huge tourist attraction. Further along the path we came to some Greek columns (I don't remember the name) that also overlook the Black Sea. Unfortunately, the beauty of the column structure was diminished by the graffiti on it. All along our walk there were brides and grooms posing for pictures. I am talking about 20-30 of them. This area is popular for wedding photos. I don't know if Friday is a big wedding day or if they take pictures the day before the wedding. It was cool to see the styles of dresses. Many of them were typical to what an American would wear but many were more frilly and poofy than you would see back home. After seeing the Greek column structure, we crossed a bridge that had locks attached all the way across a metal bar. They were all locked and had things written on them. We think maybe new brides and grooms put them there. I will have Brynn post a picture of it since it's hard to explain. At the end of the bridge, we stopped to have a drink in an outdoor setting. It was nice and relaxing. We watched all the wedding parties cross the bridge and take more pictures!

In the evening we had dinner at a pizza place and watched the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing. We are learning to take our time with meals. The waiters and waitresses wait a long time before bringing the check. We have decided it's good to linger awhile after eating-very unlike back home. Brynn and Viktor went back to the apartment while Mike and I walked some more around the city.

We are moving from our apartment in the city to a house on the Black Sea. I'll let you know how that is.

Pictures Of Kiev and Odessa

Frustrated

We just found out that the director of the orphanage will only let us visit Maria 3 times in the next week. There's nothing we can do about it so we're just going to spend the extra time exploring Odessa. We didn't see her yesterday and are waiting to hear if today will be our first of the 3 days. She was taken to a doctor for an eye infection and may not be back in time for us to go today. I am trying to not get discouraged by the things I cannot change.

Lots of Running Around and By That I Mean Sitting In a Car

I didn't even write about yesterday's adventures because I had no energy when we got back.  Mike and I left Brynn and Viktor in our apt. in Odessa while we took a taxi with Olga, our translator, to Kotovsk to start the paperwork process.  If you remember, Maria is away at a summer camp for the summer.  The camp is 3 hours from her orphanage and all paperwork is done in the town of the orphanage.  Once there, we drove around the town so Olga could conduct business relating to the adoption.  At most stops, Olga didn't need us to go with her.  We would just sit and wait for her.  We made 4 stops and each one averaged about an hour.  Mike and I haven't spent so much time alone together in a long time!!  The only reason we had to go at all was to get one paper notarized.  We left the apt. at 7 a.m. and didn't return until 8 p.m.  Though it was a grueling and boring day, Olga accomplished a lot.  We are hoping for a court date next Friday, August 15.  

Now here's the part that really upset us about yesterday.  We had no idea we would be away the whole day.  It was impossible for us to visit Maria.  We tried to arrange for Brynn and Viktor to go and see her but the director of the camp would not let them there without us.  If we had known that, we wouldn't have promised her we would be back yesterday.  What must she have thought when we didn't show up?  We will see her today and hopefully she'll be told why we didn't come.  Our translator is no longer with us, so communication will be much more difficult.  

Viktor and Brynn were able to relax in the apt. yesterday.  I think they both needed it.  Viktor has been a real trooper.  There hasn't been much fun for him yet on this trip and he has been stellar.  We will be able to settle in and relax for the next week.  He will be able to swim in the Black Sea and run around more.  His only concern about Maria is that she might be as tall as or a bit taller than him.  Poor guy!!

Thanks to those of you who leave comments.  We so look forward to reading them.  We crave touching base with family and friends from home.

Are You Kidding Me????

I have encountered many of Ukraine's portapotties today. But that's being a little generous as they were actually just a hole in the ground. 

What does Cathy + hole in the ground + 5 hours of driving equal?

Quite the leg workout and a good laugh for Mike. 

Now I know how those Eastern Europeans stay so thin.

Maria, We Just Met A Girl Named Maria

We are exhausted! We woke up at 4 a.m. and started on our drive to meet Masha (Maria). We had to first stop in the town that her orphanage is in, which is Kotovsk. She was not there because she is in a "camp" for the summer. We went to her orphange to meet with the director and caretakers to learn a bit more about her. We also picked up the Inspector for Kotovsk. He needed to accompany us to Odessa to watch our interactions with Masha. He then writes a report on his recommendation for the adoption. We didn't reach the "camp" in Odessa until almost 5:30 p.m.

We met Masha in the lobby. She was a bit shy and embarassed at first. Soon, Brynn was speaking to her in Russian and letting her take pictures with her digital camera. Masha was enthralled. We only visited with her for about 30 min. She was delightful! We've already seen a sense of humor-Thank God!! At the end of our visit, our translator asked her if she wanted us to continue visiting her. She let her know that we are interested in adopting her. Masha smiled and said, "Da!" We will go back and visit her twice a day for the next week or so. We are all in agreement that we will start the paperwork process tomorrow.

We then drove around until we found a place to stay. We are in a great apartment in the center of Odessa. What a beautiful part of town! The Black Sea is just blocks away. We walked around a bit tonight and will do more exploring over the next week.

I can't wait to tell you more about her. One thing-she's not as small as I thought she would be. She's about average for her age. Keep us in your prayers. I think they have been working very well.

What a Day!

We had our appointment with the officials in Ukraine today. They showed us a few files of girls 9 yrs. old. I had my heart set on a girl around 7 but they were encouraging us to look at older girls. The first girl didn't seem like a fit for us. The second girl, however, we all were positive about. Even Viktor leaned over to me and said, "Let's get her." They give you health information, info on the status of parents, temperment, hobbies, etc. They then show you a picture. We all agreed after seeing her file that we needn't look further. We then saw her picture and she is gorgeous! She has blond hair. She is from the Odessa region. We will travel there tomorrow and meet her on Wed. Even our translator said that we were very lucky and that she seems very healthy and happy. We'll see.

To make the day even better, most of our luggage has arrived. Of course, Brynn's luggage and our toiletries are still not here but hopefully by tomorrow.

I will probably not post again until after we've met her. Oh, her name is Maria. I'll give you a full report then.

Thanks.

Tour of Kiev

Still no luggage on day 3. As irritating as this is, it does make you realize how little you can get by on. We are hoping to get it today. They say that 4 of our 7 pieces have arrived but they won't deliver until all are there. It is too far and expensive to get to the airport ourselves so we're kind of stuck. It's amazing what will work as pajamas because your one pair of clothes are being washed every night!!

Yesterday was our tour of the city. Dima, a 20 year old student here, was a great tour guide. We walked for 6 hours around the city. Many of the streets were uphill and by the end of the day my feet hurt and I was exhausted. We saw churches and museums and learned a bit about the history of Ukraine. Very interesting. My only complaint is that it was very hot and we were outside the whole time. At the end of the day, Dima joined us for dinner. We were all hungry but none more than him. He ordered two entire meals!! I said to Mike after spending the day with him and observing his manners that, "His mother raised him right." He held doors open, stood so others could sit on the metro, held Viktor's hand as we crossed streets, etc. Hopefully, some of it will rub off on Viktor.

Today we go for our appointment. We will have a translator to help us weed through the files. We will hopefully make a decision today and thus know where we will be going and staying for the next few weeks. I will try to post later today to let you know how things went. I found out I won't be able to post her picture until right before we leave the country so I will just do my best to describe her.

Thanks again for your support.

Sunday, Aug. 3

I am at an internet cafe so I have some time to elaborate. When we landed in Kiev we had already figured our luggage hadn't made it. Luckily, we found someone who spoke English and filled out all the necessary forms. As I sit here almost 24 hours later, we still do not have any of our 7 bags!! We are hoping to meet up with them today.

We were met at the airport by our translator, Olga. She had brought along a second driver, Sasha. We needed him to help with all our luggage! Of course we had to pay extra for him to come-what a waste of money. They took us grocery shopping and got us settled in our apartment. It's a two bedroom place with one bathroom and a kitchen. It's in a very nice area of Kiev. We are right near where the president's offices are. There are guards around the area all the time.

We got settled and then all took naps. In the evening, we met Ann and Bill. They are doing missionary work in Kiev. We made our way to their apartment and had a very nice dinner and great conversation. It was a great way to begin our trip here. I'm always a bit nervous when first getting to a foreign country. Touching base with fellow Americans really helped ease the nerves. We are hoping to help with their Bible Camp on Monday. They have neighborhood kids come for two hours to hear bible stories and play. We are so grateful for Ann and Bill's hospitality. We negotiated our way back to our apartment on the metro all by ourselves!! It really helps that Brynn has some knowledge of the language.

We went to bed around 9 p.m. and were all up by about 5 a.m. We'll see how long it takes to get on a normal schedule. Of course, for me, that is my normal working schedule. Today we are meeting up with a young man named Dima. He was recommended as a tour guide for us. He will take us on a tour of Kiev. We are all looking forward to this.

Well, that's it for now. I'll catch you up on things soon. Tomorrow is our appointment to start the process of choosing a girl to adopt.

We're Here

We arrived in Kiev Sat. morning. The trip was not uneventful. We almost missed our connection from New York to Kiev-picture all of us running through the terminal. We literally got on the plane with only 2 min. until takeoff. You probably surmised that our luggage didn't make the flight. We hope to catch up with it tomorrow. We just met up with Ann and Bill, she was a coworker in GGUDS. We had dinner at their apartment and are heading back for much needed sleep. I will try to post more tomorrow.