What a blessed Christmas!

What a beautiful way to start Christmas!  Waiting on the steps in anticipation of what is under the Christmas Tree!  Of course the two older ones had to be dragged out of bed - but the 5 youngest were up at 5am!

This Christmas was very special, it was Griffan's first.  He shared with us he had never gotten a Christmas gift before.  We talked about how great it was that he got Christmas gifts and a family this year!  He agreed it was the best!  What he doesn't know is it is our best Christmas too.  Jeff got very emotional several times, thinking about what a special day it was for Griffan and that we were blessed with the opportunity to give him this gift of a family. 

I pray some Christmas in the future, Griffan fully understands just how special this year was.  I hope he discovers it isn't about the presents he had under the tree, but the true gift of this Christmas was........Jesus. 

Ukrainian American Hoosier!

We have a very happy and loving little boy!  We have had nothing but smiles and hugs since we got home (I know the honeymoon will end!).  It is so wonderful to be a part of making a child so happy.  For Griffan, there was no hesitation, no looking back - only forward.  What a wonderful Christmas gift to us and to him!

I pray that for every child that is waiting, God is touching the heart of a family - I also pray that the family will be brave enough to weather the difficulties of the adoption journey.  We are fighting for the very lives of these children - it isn't an easy task.  But for those who are courageous enough - it is a journey that can be filled with hidden blessings.

My prayers go up for all those families who are struggling in their process and need strength and courage that only God can provide.  I pray for the children that so desperately want a family and those that don't because they don't understand what a family is.

For today, I will concentrate on all the smiles, hugs, and "I love you Mama"'s that Griffan can give and tonight I will watch A HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS and be thankful that our son is home.

After 50 hours of travel....we made it home!!!!!!!

Will post more details later - needless to say I am still tired. After travelling for 50 hours, we got home last night around 9pm. The snowstorm on the east coast caused us major travel delays.

While I got no sleep - Griffan grabbed some when he could (or would). When he found out we were almost to Indianapolis - he perked up and got silly! He was so excited. He told me on the plane he doesn't want to be called "Vadym" any more - he is now Griffan forever.

To kick off his first day in America - he had to go to the dentist and got a tooth pulled. He had a badly decayed molar that was in to the nerve and causing much pain. Poor baby...Hopefully tomorrow will be pain free!  Either way - he seems to be the happiest boy on earth right now!

Introducing Griffan

Prayers for Yulia...

Had fun today handing out the socks, gloves and hats I bought for a few of the kids.  We then had a little party with cookies, fruit and juice.  I love spending time with the children - Griffan stayed busy most of the time taking pictures which kept his pouting to a minimum (only once).  We were wrapping things up to take Griffan and Luba with us to our apartment when one girl began to cry...at first she wouldn't tell us why, but she finally told us she was crying because she too wanted a mama and papa.  My heart was breaking for her.

I truly wish at this moment I could win the lottery and bring her, her 3 sisters and brother home with me too but the odds aren't very good.  Please say a prayer for Yulia, her large sibling group makes it very difficult to find a family that is willing, but it doesn't prevent her from wanting parents to love her and care for her.  God is more than able to provide, and all 5 of the kids are amazing....beautiful, sweet, smart, polite, kind, .....

I am praying that this year, Yulia gets her Christmas wish.......a mama and papa who love her and cherish her for the beautiful girl that she is, as well as her beautiful sisters and brother.  It is the season for miracles.

Life is good.......

Today when I got up, I had the opportunity to watch the sunshine (that has been absent since our first day in Ukraine) cut through the clouds and beam in my window.  I sat there drinking my coffee and praying - a great morning!

Later, we got to the orphanage and asked if we could take the kids for the afternooon (12-6pm) and were given permission~!  It was fun sitting with the kids, trying to play a game that teaches them English, and feeding them!  I made Griffan take off his pants and mended them in 3 places (2 of them in an unmentionable spot!) and Lena mended his jacket. 

After getting home, we discovered we had HOT water!  Enough for all 3 of us to have a shower and wash our hair (no more furry legs!).  I posted on Facebook that Christmas must have come early!  I am so thankful that God has allowed me to be on this journey - and I pray that many others will follow me here - there are so many precious kids here.

Every day the kids greet us and are anxious for recognition and a hug.  Their smiles are so beautiful!  When we are visiting our kids in the assistant director's office, many children open up the door for a quick look and hello.  Griffan's friend asked if I could help him come to America someday too - he wanted a family.....I wish I could touch enough hearts to empty all the orphanages around the world....but it is not within my grasp, only God's.  I am just happy to be a small part of His plan.

So for now, powerless to solve the orphan crisis, I will concentrate on the happiness of one little boy, and sharing as many smiles, hugs, and hello's as I can during the rest of the time I am here and count my blessings.  Life is good, God is amazing!

On the bright side...

Today we got up early and headed to Cherkassy!  Less than $2 for a 1 1/2 hour ride!  Looked around for souveniers but couldn't find any.  It is so funny - people lined up all over the street selling outdated Avon products.  It was a nice break in our schedule (even though our kids didn't like we weren't coming today). 

Went for pizza - was so looking forward to it after a bad food day yesterday.  We went to our main restaurant in town and it was closed for a funeral dinner so we went down the street to another place we had tried to go before but it was always closed.  Music was BLARING and there was no one in there.  The waitress came and gave us a menu and got us some hot tea (Lena thought she used the same bag for all 3 - very weak!).  We started to order and they had nothing we asked for - so we finally asked what they did have!  Between the 3 of us we ordered  borscht, fries, pelmeni and meat.  The borscht was lukewarm (oil had seperated from broth), the potatoes tasted moldy, the pelmeni was sticky - meat was so so -but afraid to finish it.  We decided to just go home and have chocolate.

Back to the pizza -  not exactly mozzarella cheese and it wasn't much to my liking.  Julie and Lena liked it okay, but I was disappointed after the bad food day yesterday (we only eat one meal a day) - On the bright side though before we left Cherkassy we stopped at McDonald's and had a hamburger, fries and cherry pie!  Tasted wonderful!!! 

Bought a few things at the store today and stopped at the internet cafe as ours wasn't working last night or this morning.  Got on the cold bus to go back to our apartment.  The funny thing is - the situation was so "ukrainian"!  The bus station sells bus tickets, but the driver also sells them on the side, the inspector comes to count how many people and how many tickets were paid for and there were 4 more people than had bought tickets.  The bus driver negotiates it down to paying her for 2 (they both pocket the money!).  As we are pulling out past the station - another 5 people got on the bus!  Lena told us that bus drivers are wealthy!  So funny!

We are hoping to be able to pick up the kids tomorrow and spend some time with just them.  I bought some games to play with them and have some movies.  We will see......

No hot water again tonight - I joked about not being able to shave my legs but on the bright side it is at least keeping me warm! 

The end is in sight!

One week from today I will be heading to Kyiv with Griffan and finishing up the US Embassy paperwork!  I will be home on Saturday, the 19th!  We have a really long connection in Frankfort and a short one in Philadelphia.  Please pray we make our connecting flight!  I have this dream of being stuck and not making it home due to holiday traffic!!!!

Julie had court yesterday and all went well.  The judge is giving her the paperwork a day early which should allow Julie to make it home for Christmas!  Praise God!  Luba has also been very shy and quiet and after court she was like a different child!  I think the poor thing has been worried about getting her hopes up too much...and felt the relief.  Her personality change had Julie worried and when Luba opened up it went a long way to reassure Julie!

I miss my family so much - I can't wait to see them!  I love the emails the girls send!  I am so glad we have internet here!  Reading their emails goes a long way in helping me get through this time! 

Griffan is also so excited about going home......vsegda (forever!).  He is so cute when he practices saying his name: Grrrrrrriffan Na-tan-ee-yell Tarrrrrrrrr (they roll their r's here and can't say the th sound!).  :)  He is such a loving little boy - likes to hold my hand, get hugged and kissed - no wiping them off yet and saying, "Mom!" like most boys his age!  He can be a pouter but quickly gets over things.  I sense a lot of frustration coming when he gets home - he doesn't like to do things he doesn't do well!  AND like most boys - doesn't like school!

We continue to endure under less than ideal circumstances - limited availability of water and lately no hot water!  But we will survive and be more grateful for where we live!  Looking very forward to that LONG HOT shower! :)

Still here...

Not really sure what to title the post today...other than we are still here.  Jeff headed out Friday night to Kyiv and flew home Saturday, so Julie and I are left to finish things up.  We had a new arrival to our routine - Anya (who is going to travel with the children coming in December) arrived late Friday night and it was nice to have someone new to talk to and have new conversations! 

Julie had to go to the notary on Saturday and since we were going to get to the orphanage late, we got some kalbasa, cheese, ham, bread, drinks and fruit to take to the orphanage and had somewhat of a picnic with the kids.  When we first got there, we had all the kids coming to Indiana later this month in and all the ones that had been this past summer in a small room - probably not more than a 10x10 room.  Picture 3 adults and about 12 kids in a very small room - with a table and alot of chairs.  Can you spell claustrophobia??? 

At first it got off to a bit of a rocky start - Vadym (who now wants me to call him Griffan :) was NOT happy about having all the kids in the room, there are a couple of kids that want to be in the room that he doesn't like.  He began to pout and not make a very good impression on Anya!  Not a proud mom at that point - so I took him outside the room and had Anya tell him he needed to behave.  I assured him I was HIS mom forever and that out of all the kids in that room I loved HIM!  I told him he would soon be leaving the orphanage forever and that the children in the room were still going to be there and that I wanted to get to know them and maybe help them also find a forever family.  He listened and apologized and I gave him a hug and kisses (which I love that he lets me and seems to love it!).  He came in and was a good boy the rest of the time - even told Anya he was sorry he got off on the wrong foot.  I guess now that he has a mom and dad he wants to hold on tight.

We had a type of interview session with the kids - what do they like to do, their favorite colors, favorite foods, and asked if they had any questions about coming to America.  It was alot of fun as the kids shared!  I don't think any of them will be frightened coming - they are all anxious about it and looking forward to the adventure!  All the kids wanted to know about their families - and that was hard..........I have one little 11yo girl who is so sweet and so beautiful (she has 2 sisters and 1 brother) that was asking about what "her" host family was like....I don't have one for her yet (and she is one of my favorites!) and I felt so bad...If you know anyone who would even consider the thought of 4 kids (ages 11,10,9,7) please let me know!  They are wonderful kids - all of them. 

Today is like the others - getting up early enough to try to catch the water on and waiting to go to the orphanage.  Coming back and trying to figure out what to do until bedtime.  At least we can enjoy Anya while she is here - she leaves tomorrow and Lena arrives.  So again - new conversation and a break in the monotony.  Also - Julie's daughter Alyona's older sister is here to visit a few days (which makes Julie feel better too).

Julie will have her 2nd court on Tuesday - please pray it will go well for her.  I had told her I would stay with her if she wanted me to and she doesn't.  I will not leave her alone though - we will make sure someone is with her the last few days.  I leave on the 19th (which is a Saturday) and on Monday Julie will hit the road running with Victor to get all her paperwork for the visa.  We are praying that Julie will make it home on Christmas eve.......please pray with us that she will get her Christmas miracle too.

I wish I could make the process smooth for everyone.....I wish there would be no Ukrainian or Italian couples to compete with, no officials who are trying to make a point, no judge that has the desire to wield their power, an adoption authority that was consistent, a country that would understand the why behind what we are doing, no delays, no stress, no pain........but unfortunately I can't...all I can do is to try to encourage and guide families along the way and trust that God ultimately knows best.  There are days that my job is such a burden ... but then I spend time with the children...so beautiful, so wonderful, so in need of love, so worth all the struggle, stress, and pain that a family goes through and the burden of the job.

Helping these precious children is so worth the cost.........I wish I could help everyone understand that.  Please pray that God would continue opening that door to help these children, that God would stir hearts of families to open their lives up to them, God's provision for each family, that each family would trust God to lead them to the child He knows is best for them and the strength for all of us to get through the rough patches in the process.  All for God's glory.....

Good news and a bump in the road....

Okay - the good news is that we did have court today and things went well.  In 10 days, V will officially be Griffan!  He was very happy and so were we.

Now - the bump in the road.....Julie who travelled with us had her court scheduled today too but unfortunately the judge she had only wanted to do the preliminary court today and scheduled the official court on Tuesday.  Not what we expected or hoped for...needless to say Julie was upset.  This will be pushing it to get back by Christmas.  However - they don't call it Christmas "Miracles" for nothing.

Please keep Julie in your prayers and that she is able to get all the paperwork she needs to make it home by Christmas.  I know it is only a few extra days but when you are here a day seems like 10.

Can't wait to enjoy all the comforts of home....water than runs all day (instead of 6pm to 8am), toilets you can flush anytime you want and that are actual toilets and not holes in the ground, pizza delivery, tv we can watch and understand, signs and menus we can read, knowing that when you are in line that you are actually in a line and no one is going to keep cutting in front of you, being able to brush your teeth and wash your hands like normal, washing a full load of laundy(not miniature) and actually tossing in the dryer, .............as you can see home sounds pretty good right now!  I miss the girls and dogs coming to snuggle in the bed with me! 

But all in all - it is worth the cost......I would do it again for a little boy whose face lights up and runs to greet us!  After all.......Christ did so much more for us...a little discomfort on my end is nothing compared to what He did to give us a future.  

Would LOVE to hear from you - it is great to get emails or comments!

Going to Court Friday!!!

Good news!  All that was needed to accomplish court has been achieved (thanks to our wonderful team!)!  We will have court on Friday!  Jeff  will leave Friday to head back to Kyiv and home on Saturday! 

God has been wonderful to us and has so far answered every prayer and every hurdle has been jumped!  We are praying that we will make it home by 12/19! 

I would write more but I am tired today and can't find the words to make it very interesting!

I am so excited that it looks like we may get our Christmas miracle after all!

A little relief to the monotony!

Today we are just waiting and trying to find something to fill our time until we head to the orphanage!  We will get to visit with the children for about 3 hours and then we will head to the one and only restaurant in town (which is very good!) and have our main meal of the day (we actually have been able to have toast here in the morning).  Then we walk home and try to find something to occupy us until we can go to bed. 

However  tomorrow will be special as we are heading to a neighboring town to visit an orphanage director I know!  There is actually a McDonalds there and we are very much looking forward to it!!!!!!  Then for even more excitement - we are having a party for the orphanage on Thursday and having court on Friday!  Jeff will be heading home Saturday - while Julie and I wait for our 10 days and do the medical/vsa thing!  We are hoping and praying for everything to work ou for us to be home on 12/19!!!!!!!!

All is going well here and our team is AWESOME!!!  I couldn't ask for any better! 

Hope to update you on Friday with our official news! :)  Please keep praying!