Finally...One Year Ago Today - HOME!!!

Ok, well...it is quite a bit past July 9th.  It's my fault I didn't get the photos picked out for Sarah to use to make this awesome video for me. And then after she got it done, I didn't take the time to post it.

Anyway, I do hope you will take a few minutes (8 min and 20 sec actually) to watch this wonderful video Sarah so lovingly put together for her littlest brother. If you don't have that much time, skip ahead to about 7:20 to see some recent FUN videos of Jonathan. Since those videos were taken a couple weeks ago, he has greatly improved his walking skills and walks all of the time now. He has also become quite the little monkey boy too. Today alone we plucked him off the top of one of the school desks and my bed! Then he got half way up one of the stools that Elijah has never been able to get up on.  This child is going to give me a lot more gray hair! :-) But to think a year ago, he was just starting to sit up on his own. Amazing!!!

Enjoy the video! A HUGE thank you to Ashley again for taking our homecoming photos at the airport. We are so very grateful to all of you that have supported us throughout Jonathan's journey home. We love you all! To God be the Glory!

One Year Ago - July 9 - The Trip Home

The Trip Home - Three Angels Along the Way

Originally when we started the process for Jonathan's adoption, we tentatively planned for Sarah to come back with me to bring Jonathan home. But since it was such a short trip with the one-day passport, she decided she would stay home. I was a bit nervous about bringing Jonathan home alone. Not that he was going to get away from me, but what happens when mama has to use the restroom in the airport? I wasn't using a stroller, so it made things a bit more difficult as far as that goes. I was also concerned about the flight for the same reasons.

I had many folks back home praying for me. Some were especially praying for a wonderful, understanding person to sit next to me on the flight. The Lord answered that prayer and sent other angels along the way too.

Angel #1:  "Kim"

When I first got to my gate in Kyiv for my 5:35AM flight to Frankfurt (ugh - I loathe that airport), I started chatting with a wonderful lady from Hattiesburg, Mississippi (yes the home of Brett Favre!).She was coming home after court for the adoption of two older children they had hosted. She "happened" to be assigned a seat right across the aisle from me on the flight. She held J for me so I could use the bathroom. She was incredibly sweet.

Angel #2: "Tim" - Adoptive Father of Nine

I met Tim at our gate waiting to board in Frankfurt. I'm not sure how the conversation actually started. I think he commented about how beautiful Jonathan was. (That surprised me a bit, I'll admit.) So I explained about his adoption. He asked if we adopted through RR. Again I was a bit surprised! He explained how he and his wife were in process adopting to older girls with Down syndrome from Kyiv!!! Now, really....what are the chances??? Only God. Their blog is HERE if want to see their sweet girls. (They have also adopted four blessings from China!) So, we chatted for a while and eventually a young woman joined our conversation. She was a German teacher in the States and was going home after spending time in Germany. She shared how she worked at a special needs camp when she was in high school (if I'm remembering right) and thought she would always want to adopt a special needs child. So Tim and I shared about RR. Again...really??? :-)  They were both so wonderful. It was a blessing to be able to put down my backpack and carry-on near them, so I didn't have to lug them behind as I "paced" with Jonathan. I think Tim asked for the photo. How very sweet.  It was a huge blessing to have someone "safe" to hang out with. Thanks Tim!

Angel #3:  "My Lithuanian Angel"

As I said above, many folks were praying about having the right person sit next to me. God answered that prayer!  All around me were business men, except immediately to my right was a very sweet, grandmotherly woman from Lithuania.  And she spoke perfect English!  She had spent a lot of time in the States with her sister who now lived here. Again, she was such a blessing to me. She watched Jonathan for me when I needed to get up and was not at all bothered that his bassinet was in front of her seat too. She even tried to play with him too. We talked about the plight of orphans in Ukraine, Lithuania being a former Soviet country, the Russian language, etc. Thank you Lord for providing this sweet woman to sit next to me!

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Because I was able to book our return flight right after court, I was able to secure "bulkhead seating". It ROCKS!!! Basically, what it means is we sat in the front row of our section, right behind the bathrooms. The extra HUGE bonus of this is a bassinet can be secured to the wall once the plane is in the air.  I was able to lay Jonathan down to sleep or rest while I ate or rested myself.  He didn't particularly like it as he couldn't roll over, but he was able to get his fingers in his mouth, so that was helpful. :-) He did sleep part of the time.

PEEK!

He really was almost too big for it, but we managed.

Coming next (probably not for a day or two) - HOMECOMING photos and a special video! Thanks for reading.

One Year Ago Today - July 7/8 - Kyiv

Ok, so I'm a day behind...we had a wonderful family reunion on Saturday in beautiful weather, Sunday just got away from me, and today I spent my extra time pulling weeds!  I realize this is probably a lot more detail than most of you care about, but I'm just putting them in for our family's sake. Feel free to skim (or ignore completely) if you want.

So, Thursday, July 7th, we got off the train all well-rested (not). We had breakfast and Vanya's driver picked us up and brought us to the consulate/embassy for my 10:30 appointment. It is pretty fun to walk to the front of the line with my USA passport. :-) Or did we go to the medical appt first? I think so. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I got the paperwork turned in to the consulate's office.

Just off the train - breakfast at "McFoxy" (or something like that - a McDonalds knock-off)
Vanya was great at snapping pictures for me. I was working on THIS short post.

 Then, my blog post from Thursday night, July 7th:

"Today at the US Consulate's office, I got all of my forms and documents submitted and ready to go.  I had to remind them that I needed to pay the second I-600 fee of $720 though. :-) He didn't mention it but I told him we had already used one approval on our I-171H and since the boys weren't biological siblings, I owed them another $720. It was the right thing to do. They would have caught it tomorrow and it may have delayed things, so it was best to just take care of it now.

The medical exam went MUCH quicker this time. It helped we didn't have to wait for 2 hours for the doctor to get out of a "meeting" like last time. It was still a joke, still costs $110, but hey...I gotta do what I gotta do to get out of here. :-)

So, tomorrow, I go back to the consulate's office at 2pm for the final visa processing. I know it will be a HUGE relief when I finally get it.  Then, the driver will pick me up at 2:45AM - yes you read that right - for our journey home. Please continue to pray all goes well, esp for J's ears on the plane."

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After the paper chasing was done for the day, we set off to find an apartment for J and me to stay in for a couple of days. Vanya knows a landlord that rents pretty high-end apts. He gives Vanya a good deal when he knows he can't rent the apt for the weekend. It was a very "swanky" apartment! 

View of the street from the living room

Ok, this bathroom was none like I had ever seen before...
The shower had a remote control! I kid you not. It had sprayers and misters and nozzles from all different angles. I just used the regular shower head. LOL
And yes, it even had a bidet! :-)
The one thing it didn't have? An outlet...go figure.

Nice sized kitchen

The spacious bedroom

Living room with Jonathan laying in the middle of the floor

This apartment did present a problem though...what do with the little man when I'm not holding him?  I could sit him on the couch, but he could easily lean forward and fall. The floor is very hard tile. His blanket really wasn't thick enough to protect him if he rolled over and bumped his head on the floor. He definitely couldn't sit up on the floor.

This was one very quick, temporary solution...

....He wasn't overly thrilled with it though....

What I ended up doing was taking one of the older looking, thick bedspreads/comforters from the closet and laying that on the floor for him to play on. I felt bad it was going to have to be washed, but I really had no other option.

View out of the kitchen window. For a while, I couldn't figure out what the sand and the brick area was for.  But then, I saw an owner taking a dog for a walk...ok, got it. :-) Not much grass around.

But take a look at that "parking lot". The entrance was at the back left of the gray building. Hmmm...talk about being "parked in"!

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Jonathan's first bath!!!

While he was not overly crazy about it, he did not shriek in terror like Elijah did for his first bath. It took a month or so home before J enjoyed his bath. I would not say that he LOVES them now, but tolerates them. Elijah on the other hand - he LOVES LOVES LOVES water! :-)

Naptime! I slept right next to him at night. He slept great!

Vanya left town Thursday evening, and J and I slept in on Friday morning. My embassy appt wasn't until the afternoon, so we hung out for a while. With no computer, I watched TV, or tried to anyway. I think the only thing I watched was "English 911" or "English Club" or something like that. The show was teaching Russian speakers how to speak English. Hey, at least I could understand it!  After teaching a few of my children phonics, I realized how incredibly difficult English must be to learn as a second language. But one thing I never thought about until watching this show was the difference between homework and housework. Big difference, but oh so confusing to a non-English learner. Something to think about...after spending so much time in Ukraine, I have learned languages, and the ability to understand them, are a true gift.  It also gives me a whole new appreciation for Vanya and Kostya, my facilitators, and the work they do. Their English is absolutely perfect and never once did I not understand something they said. They were a joy to work with.

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FRIDAY, JULY 8

TWO big things happened on this day:

1. I got Jonathan's VISA so we could go HOME! Praise God!

2. Dariya was sprung from her orphanage and I got to meet her!!! YAY! (You have to check out her Gotcha Day video HERE.)


Pat and I met Jason and Rochelle Cannon at the beginning of our trip. We dined together and then we stood in the hot sun together waiting for our referrals at the SDA before leaving for our regions. What a joy it was to follow their journey in country via their blog and then get to meet Dariya in person! How fun! We had supper at the Ukrainian Buffet together. I'm sure I had borsch and I think she had vereniki. :-) She did a great job at the restaurant after the exciting day she had. What a precious little girl! We hope to be able to see the Cannons again someday.

  

And where was Jonathan during all of this? He was snuggled in the Ergo sleeping away. He might have woken up at the end, I don't remember. We were both a little lot sweaty by the time we got back to the apartment. It was over a mile walk uphill both ways...ha ha. But if you look at the picture below, you'll see the road going back up a hill far in the distance. My apartment was up there...somewhere. 

Coming up next....the trip HOME!  Woohoo!!!

One Year Ago Today - July 6 - GOTCHA!

One year ago, I posted this from Vanya's apartment: (I added some notes in yellow.)

"Today went great so far!!! Right now, we're hanging out at Vanya's apartment (since he conveniently lives in the same city as the passport office and the train station) while we wait to leave on the overnight train to Kyiv in a few hours. So, yes, that "we" is Vanya, me AND Jonathan!!!!! Our day went great with obtaining the court decree (This took a bit longer b/c we needed about 10 copies, and they only made seven. Thankfully, Vanya usually requests the court decree to only have 2 sides, thus one piece of paper, so they don't have to sew the 2 sheets together. If you've never been to Ukraine, you are laughing. But it's true - any official document containing more than one sheet of paper is sewn together with a string. No, I'm not joking!), his new birth certificate, closing out J's bank account and getting the one-day red passport! Praise God!!!! The Lord worked out all of the details with everything. He is SO good to us. Oh ya, the "Gotcha" part of the day went great too. We got photos of his crib and his play area, as well as group photos with the nannies and one with the director. The Lord also gave us favor with the director to let us see and take photos of one of the very special little ones here, so I'll be passing those on to his mama as soon as I get home. 

Jonathan is doing well. He wasn't too crazy about his bottle at first, but managed to drink down 6 oz of it. Right now he's laying on the couch next to me, cooing and smiling at me. He's a little love. :-) I'm going to try and give him some cereal here in a bit before we get on the train, so I'd best sign off and get back to being a mommy. I'll post photos when I get home too. (While I typed this, Vanya had run to the grocery store to buy some baby food for him. Love it! Vanya went way above and beyond. I couldn't carry any over as I didn't check any luggage, and I had no opportunity to stop at the store. Vanya did a great job with his selections, as I think this may have been the first time he bought baby food. :-))

Thank you to everyone for praying about this day. God is faithful and has blessed me tremendously today. Please continue to pray for a smooth train ride tonight, smooth processing at the embassy Thurs and Friday, and of course, a quiet, uneventful trip home with no cancelled flights! Love to you all!!!"

Ok, here's the photos! (This post is a bit picture heavy as I nearly lost all of these photos shortly after we arrived home due to an "operator error". But we recovered them and I'm SO thankful!)

A shopping mall near the apt

Outside of the HUGE market

Front of the city Social Worker's office

J's "locker" just outside the main grouppa room.
I'll give a special gold star to the first one to  leave a comment  with the English pronunciation of Jonathan's last name. :-) I'll give you a hint - his first name was Kiril, thus the initial K at the end. Oh, and it's Russian, not Ukrainian...

The nannies working this day. The lady on the right was the "head" nanny as we usually saw her doing paperwork and bossing around the young one in the red. :-)

Every single time we came to visit Jonathan, we was laying in this play pen - flat on his back - if he wasn't eating. :-(   There is no padding, it is just hard wood. :-( :-(  No toys to play with, just the ones hanging in the air to look at.

The wall of toys...

It was actually nap time when we came, so you can see the babes in  the cribs. J's was in the back left corner. 

Jonathan's crib!

As I mentioned above, the director gave us permission to visit this precious little one...his story is not mine to tell, but his mama tells it so very well here - http://savenathaniel.blogspot.com/2012/05/one-year-ago-today.html . My heart breaks completely in two for him...I debated about posting these or not. But I feel it's important for us to be reminded of what the lack of medical care for orphans really means...his condition is VERY treatable..

Ok, it was time to pull it together and sign off with the director (right). I have no idea who the lady on the left is, this was the first time I saw her.

Leaving Antoshka!

Oh...my poor baby's eyes...you know, once he got home and they cleared up, he's never had a single problem with them since!

This is how we traveled via taxi to Donetsk. Yes, no carseats...just LOTS of prayer! This is still his favorite cuddling position.
Some of you Ukrainian veterans may have noticed how big this car looks, and it was. Funny story...when Max came to visit us, this same taxi brought us to Celetano's. The driver was astute enough to give Max his number in case we needed a taxi again. :-) He pointed out he had AC. Sold! We saved his number and Vanya called him for our trip back to Donetsk. I can't remember exactly what we paid, but we figured it barely covered his gas, esp since he had to drive back 1 1/2 hours to Kramatorsk. Nice guy!

 Cuteness!

On the train!!!
When I look at this photo, I'm shocked at how skinny his legs look. His legs are NOT skinny anymore!

FREEDOM!

He conked out like this shortly after we got on the train about 8pm I believe. By the way, he still sleeps exactly like this - always the first 2 fingers on his right hand - in his mouth. I figured he would wake up in a couple hours for a bottle. Nope! He slept like this until 2 or 3AM. I tried to sleep with my legs around him so he wouldn't roll off. Have I ever mentioned I hate sleeping on the train??? But a sacrifice WELL worth it!

Tomorrow - our first day in Kyiv!

One Year Ago Today - July 4/5, 2010

(This begins a series of posts about Jonathan's "Gotcha Week", which I never blogged about as it was happening. I chose not to carry over a computer since it was going to be such a short trip, so I didn't blog as I went.)

Gotcha Week Planned Schedule:

July 4 and 5 - Travel to Donetsk
July 6 - Take bus to Kramatorsk, GOTCHA DAY, obtain one-day passport and overnight train to Kyiv
July 7 - Arrive in Kyiv, have first consulate appointment
July 8 - Second consulate appointment and obtain VISA!
July 9 - Fly HOME!

By the Lord's grace, this is exactly how it worked out. :-)

On July 4th, 2010, I left our little local airport to begin my journey to bring our 7th child home. Pat and the kids dropped me off at the airport "on the way" to the parade. I was a little teary as he pulled away as I stood there with my carry-on suitcase and backpack (I determined to pack light and I did!).  The Lord gave me His peace and strengthened me. If this had been my first trip to Ukraine, it would have been very different I'm sure. My first 2 flights were uneventful.  The Lord blessed me with an aisle seat on the long flight as I was seated right between 2 siblings, so I switched with one of them. Yay!

I was very fortunate to fly directly from Munich, Germany, into Donetsk instead of Kyiv. I LOVE the Munich airport!!! It's so quiet, clean and small compared to the huge, confusing, maze-like airport in Frankfurt. The flight from Munich to Donetsk was delayed over an hour. The plane was late due to a storm in Rome. I have to say, going through customs in Donetsk was a little scary. I saw a few people sent to the side for some reason. Not too many people come into Donetsk to adopt, but it worked out fine. The baggage claim was hilarious. Go around a corner back outside and pull your suitcase off of a trailer. Love it! :-) In Munich, I started talking to a man from the States traveling to the south of Donetsk, so it was nice to stand in the customs line with someone who spoke English.

A driver was still waiting for me at the airport and took me to a very nice little hotel that Vanya had arranged with a friend of a friend. I felt very safe there. These photos below are actually the next morning. The friendly cat looks just like our "Tiger" at home, so I had to snap a few photos.

Well, just in case you felt bad for the kids having their mother gone on a holiday, don't worry about it! The wonderful Gibson family sat the parade with them, and then invited Pat and the kids over for a swim party AND a birthday party to celebrate Anna and Jake's birthday. Here a few of the many photos Auntie Crackers took for me. :-) I'm SOO very grateful for the love they have shown us over the past 2+ years.


Elijah's first Independence Day! Freedom on so many levels!

Elijah looks SO young! All of the kids have changed so much in the past year. 

Once Elijah learned he didn't have to throw the candy back at the people throwing it to him LOL, he did great picking it up and filling his hat.

Looks like the kids are really missing their mommy, doesn't it???

This would be Carter's Daddy!

 Ashley was so sweet to spend time with the girls and braid their hair.

Sarah and her BFF Rachel

What sweet innocence....

The birthday buds!

My wonderful parents came for the week while I was gone so Pat could go to work. They had a nice party for Anna on her real birth-day. :-) I was so grateful for the sacrifice of their time to help us bring both of the boys home.

I do know that Anna missed me on this day. In 2010, Pat and Sarah were in Ukraine on a mission trip. She was very glad this year that all of us were home together.

Tomorrow - GOTCHA DAY!