He's Our Boy!

Well, we went to court this morning and everything went really well. We were suppose to go in at 10:30 a.m. but the orphange director and inspector were there for another hearing, so the judge moved us up. We went in about 9:30 and we were done by 10:05 a.m. The judge just kept saying this was going to be very quick and it was. They first asked to see pictures of "R" and when the judge saw him, she realized she was the same judge to terminate his biological mother's rights. How is that for coincidence. Both Dan and I were asked about 3 or 4 questions and that was about it. We were nervous for nothing but of course there were a few tears when they read the ruling (no, not Dan...me!:) . The judge congratulated us and that was it. We are now beginning our 10 day wait which means we can leave Donetsk on July 8. If all goes well, we may be on a plane for home on July 11.

In one of my earlier posts, I talked about the number 12 being a good omen for us. When we were looking through our dossier last night, we realized that the date last March when we found out that our dossier would not be submitted because of the quota for Canada being met, was March 12. At the time I thought I would never forget that date but actually did. That was the beginning of the number 12 for us. "R" entered the orphange on March 14 and like I said in an earlier post, we were the first family to see his file. God had a plan, we just didn't know what it was at the time. We are now counting our blessings which include Sydney and "R" (not sure if I can use his name yet).

We had a tour of the orphanage this morning and it is a really nice place. "R" is lucky to have had this for his home for the past 15 months.

For anyone who will be going to court, I wouldn't worry too much about what to wear. At least in our case, it was pretty casual. The blouse I brought to wear to court ended up being locked in the washing machine!! I went to do a load of laundry the day before yesterday and the door of the machine wouldn't close completely or open at all. So, our clothes are being held captive. Our landlady said we should try to open it ourselves, which of course we did for about 45 minutes before calling. Anyway, I had a bit of a dressy t-shirt that matched the skirt I had and our facilitator said it was just fine. Dan wore dress pants, a dress shirt and a tie and Syd wore a dress. The prosecutor was in jeans, so I knew we didn't need to worry to much.

I also keep forgetting to mention this to anyone travelling; bring both a Ukrainian and Russian phrase book with phonetic pronunciations. We couldn't find a Russian one so it has been a bit of a struggle. We do have a phrase book that was created specifically for adoption which helps but it is limited.

That's all for now.

About Ukraine

We don't really have anything new to report on the adoption. Our court hearing is tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. I thought I would just share a few things about Kiev and Donetsk.

One of the first things we noticed in Kiev is the incredible use of cell phones. Everyone walking, driving, running and shopping has one attached to their ear. Every way you turned there were people on cell phones. Also, not only does the traffic move fast in Kiev but so do the people. You really don't want to get in the way of someone who is trying to get somewhere. I don't believe it is a matter of being rude or pushy, it is just the pace that the city moves at. At every major intersection you have to go underground to cross the street and there are all kinds of stores down there. It's great for the avid shopper. The prices for things in Kiev seem to be higher than in Donetsk. We take a taxi to and from the orphanage every day, twice a day; so for 4 taxi rides it costs us $17.00 U.S. which is a lot less than at home. It is about 15 minutes one way. We found a nice restaurant that actually has an English menu (Cherry Pizza) and we had a pizza, a pint of beer, a glass of wine, an iced tea and a dessert and with a tip, it was $20.00. Groceries are quite a bit less for most things also.

That's my little tidbit for today. We have to get back to the apartment as it will soon be time to see "R". Bye for now.

Dan's Adventure!

Well, Dan had a very long day yesterday going to Kiev for "R"s medical. As far as the medical goes, everything is great. He is both physically and mentally in the normal range for his age. We don't foresee any problems with the final approval.

As I may have mentioned once or twice before, "R" is a very active little boy. When Dan came home last night and was telling us about it, it was quite funny (although at the time I don't think Dan thought it was). Keeping in mind that everything "R" is doing and seeing is new to him, will help explain some of the incidents. Dan had to take him to the bathroom at the airport and "R" thought it was pretty cool to flush the toilet... over and over and over again. Dan finally got him to the sink to wash his hands and again, "R" found the soap dispenser fascinating and kept pumping it. Finally Dan gets the water to the right temperature, turns around and "R" is gone... yes, he is back flushing the toilet. Once his hands are washed, he takes off again and is turning the lights off and on. As Dan tells it, he had to pretty much have him in a headlock to get through security at the airport. Needless to say, we are a bit concerned about the long trip home:)

They ended up going to the zoo and "R" would have climbed in the cage with the lions if he could have. The director helped Dan keep "R" under control. At the doctor's office he was telling a lady beside him that he already misses his friends (he had been away from the orphanage for a whole 7 hours by that time). Dan said he talks to anyone and everyone that he sees. The tricky part is, we usually don't know what he is saying to people. "Y" was there yesterday so she was able to translate for Dan.

It is confirmed that our court date is Friday morning. We are still waiting for a confirmed time.

I hope the weather has gotten better at home. It is really hot here. The thermometer outside our kitchen window, which faces east, sometimes registers at 40 celcius in the morning. Surprisingly, we are managing the heat quite well.

Going back to not being able to read anything, we discovered that we bought 2 packages of paper towel instead of toilet paper... when you are in a hurry shopping, it all looks the same. We will have to hit the market on the way back to the apartment. I guess we should have known as most of the toilet paper comes in colours like yellow, blue, pink and are scented. These packages were just plain old white.

We are getting pretty anxious to get home. Even though things have gone good so far, there really is no place like home. We get calls from family almost every day so that really helps to feel connected.

That's it for now.

Part 2

For some reason it cut me off on the last post... I guess I am too long winded. Anyway we should have court by the end of this week so we should know more by then when we are coming home.

For those who were asking we are in Donetsk which is a city of about 1,000,000 people. There are quite a few markets etc close by so it is a good area. Tara, sorry I didn't get your email sooner. Now that we know where to go to the internet we can keep in touch and hopefully meet up somewhere.

I just have one quick story to tell before it cuts me off again. We were visiting "R" and whenever we visit and he runs away, we call to him to come back and stay with us. The other day, Sydney went to see if our taxi had arrived at the orhpanage yet and when he noticed her walking away, he started yelling to her in Russian and shaking his fist/finger at her and waving for her to come back. It was really funny. We aren't exactly sure what he was saying but we know he was putting her in her place. Syd has been great about everything on this trip. She never complains and takes everything in stride, sometimes better than Dan and I. We all can't wait to bring him home and get into a rountine.

Anyway, I better sign off before I get cut off. I should be able to post daily now so more news tomorrow. Thanks again for the comments and for those of you who are here or coming here soon for your journeys, good luck and God Bless!

We are on our Own!

Sorry it has been so long between posts. "Y" left last Thursday evening and we have been on our own since then. It took us a while to find the internet. It has been very interesting not having anyone to translate. Some people are very nice but others are not so nice. We went to a supermarket yesterday to buy lots of groceries so we don't have to go out everyday and try to communicate what we want. The cashier was definitely not going for Miss Congeniality. Dan started putting the groceries on the belt that moves everything along and she started to bark out something at him. Of course, he didn't understand so she said the same thing again only louder. Why is it people think if you don't understand a language it will be easier if you say it even louder:) Anyway, we got through that and had a good laugh afterwards. I have to admit it does get discouraging when you get a negative response but that is all part of the experience. Even though it is stressfull I think everyone should experience it... not sure why but I am thinking it builds character!!

We are still enjoying our apartment and believe it or not, I have actually take the stairs several times. There are 2 flights per floor, 9 stairs per flight x 9 floors = a heck of a lot of stairs. We always use the stairs going down but I have only attempted going up about 3 times. It takes Dan and Syd too long to revive me :) We had to take the stairs the other day because someone left a beer bottle with something other than beer in it sitting in the elevator and it had spilled. Give the choice, stairs are good.

We continue to see "R" every day, twice a day. We have had a couple of visits where we left feeling a bit discouraged. He gets really wound up (of course he is excited and he is on his own turf) and we have even more trouble communicating with him. On one visit he was mad at us when we left because we didn't play in the sandbox. I think he thought that if he did what we wanted for part of the time, we would play in the sandbox after but our time ran out. He wouldn't give us a hug goodbye but when we went back everything was good and the big bear hugs were back. Dan, aka Pappa, gets a kiss on both cheeks also. It is really cute to see. Dan, "R" and the director of the orphanage are in Kiev today for the Canadian Immigration medical. We should have our court date

Progress is being made

Thank you for all of the heartwarming comments all of you have left. It makes me cry when I read them and I am in a public internet!

I am first going to address the question about the doctor coming to the orphanage. The doctor that we had with us is from Kiev. We found out about him for the FRUA chat board. His name is Dr. Yuri and he was a wonderful person to have along. If you can't find the information on FRUA, email me at wright.lorrie@gmail.com and I will give you contact information. Good luck on your journeys and thank you for following ours.

Well, we have spent the last 3.5 days with "R" and it seems like so much longer. It amazes me how in just 2 hours a day such a strong bond can be created. We go for about one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. He is such a sweet little boy and is quite funny. He told his caregiver that if she behaves he might take her with him when he leaves. The director of the orphange got quite a kick out of that! Today we were able to take him with us and "Y" to get his picture taken for some of the adoption documents. He was so good and was just awestruck with everything around him. We bought him a Finding Nemo backpack from home and he just loves to strut around with that on. He is very slight so it is nothing to pick him up and hold him. We learned a lesson yesterday... don't give him a banana and 2 juice boxes in the same visit. The first half of the visit was pretty calm but by the second half he was all over the place. Here are the 3 of us all running after him and another couple that is their with their 2 boys are sitting quietly and colouring. "R" does not sit down for too long. He absolutely loves watching video played back on the camera. He is learning a few English words but we have a long way to go.

We moved to a new apartment and it is way better than the last one. I know I said the last one was OK but I was exaggerating. Once again the aromas were abundant. The new place is on the 9th floor of the building... and no, I don't have to take the stairs (I think that might do me in!!). The elevator is really funny. With 4 of us in there it is jam packed and it sounds like it is on its last cable. We laugh every time we get in it. Judy, just think about getting stuck in this one! The apartment is modern and has 1 bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom and fridge, stove and microwave. The view is really nice. We are just waiting for a phone to be put in.

Oh yeah, I named the post making progress and forgot that part. The paperwork is moving along pretty quickly. We already have our application into the courts and hope to have our hearing by the end of next week. I still don't know how long we will be here but so far we haven't hit any roadblocks with paperwork.

One other thing I keep forgetting to mention is that with some of the money that we raised for the orphanage, we will be buying them a computer. This was a request from the director. There are some other things they also need but I am not sure what they are yet. It is a really good orphange; clean, organized and the kids are challenged to do creative things like plays, painting etc. In fact, "R" won some kind of award for his part in a play. One day he was running with his little forearms flapping and we couldn't figure out what he was doing. We ended up finding out that he was a mosquito in the play!

Well I better sign off. Keep the comments coming.

Meeting "Our" Little Boy!

Finally we have access to internet again. We had our first overnight trip by train which was a very interesting experience. I completely agree with everyone who has been here before when they say "Pack light keeping in mind you may have to take the train". Even though we did pack light it was still a challenge. Dan slept pretty good on the train, Syd slept some and I slept very little. In the wee hours of the morning, the door to our compartment suddenly opens and there is a man there speaking what I think was Russian. I was just drifting off when he opened the door, so he really startled me. The only thing I could think of to say is "What???" quite loudly. "Y" woke up and just shut the door and relocked it. The important thing is we did survive our first overnight train ride.

From the train station, we went to our new apartment. The outside looked pretty scary but the apartment itself is not bad at all. The best part is that it is half the amount of money per night compared to the first apartment we had. We cleaned up and went to the orphanage. We were all pretty nervous. There was Dan, Syd, "Y", the doctor and me. We first met the orphange director. While we were talking with her, one of the caregivers brought "R" (the little boy) into the room. He didn't look anything like his picture. He is quite small. He started off by reciting a poem. We of course couldn't understand him but we laughed along with everyone else. One of his later poems was something like "I want a mama and if I get a sheep I will name it mama". Pretty creative little guy. Anyway, the doctor worked with him for over an hour, then we went back to play with him the p.m. Everything seems fine so we are proceeding with our application to adopt him. I know we can't officially call him "Our" little boy but soon we will. He is VERY active... but very sweet. I will post again soon. We don't have as easy access to internet as we did before.

Our SDA Appointment

We have been waiting a long time to be able to post about having our appointment! We had a bit of a rough start. Our facilitator always calls the taxi for us and gives them the adress. The driver we had wasn't sure of the number and dropped us off at a different building. I kept thinking that this building didn't look familiar. I had seen pictures of it before on other blogs. Anyway, Sydney happened to see our facilitator walking on the other side of the street so we flagged her down. She couldn't believe we had been dropped off at the wrong place. We were fortunate enough to have the first appointment of the day... or so we thought. We went in and were asked for our passports. As luck would have it, this was the only time we had ever left the apartment without them. Our facilitator didn't know we needed them. Our hearts dropped! They said to go get the passports and be back by 10:00. We had trouble getting a cab because of the time of day. Our facilitator ( I will call her "Y" from now on) and Dan got in a cab at 9:30. They made it back at 10:02. In the meantime, Sydney and I were waiting outside of the SDA looking at the time every 30 seconds. We had to wait for about 10 minutes before we were called in again. The appointment itself took about half an hour to 40 minutes. OK, OK, I know, get on with it :)

We are going to meet a little boy who will turn 5 on Monday... the day we first visit him. We have to travel for about 12 hours by train and will leave on Sunday evening. I can't say too much other than we are very excited. We have many steps to go through yet but we really feel like this is the child that is meant to be in our family.

I will post again as soon as I have more information. We love to read the comments, so keep them coming!

We Have Landed!

Sorry we couldn't post sooner... computer issues and catching up on sleep are the reasons! We arrived in Kiev Monday afternoon around 1:30 p.m. We didn't get out of the passport/luggage/customs area until around 3:00 p.m. This was a bit of a struggle considering how tired we were... especially Sydney. None of us were able to sleep on the plane. Overall, the flights were good except for the last stretch from Frankfurt to Kiev. We couldn't get seats together so we had to sit 1 row behind each other in the middle seats. This proved to be very interesting with overcrowding (seats were small) and it being so hot on the plane - the aromas were abundant! But, we made it in one piece and are glad to have made it here with very little problem.

We were taken to get groceries and then to our apartment, which happens to be on the fourth floor... four floors of stairs! We lugged our suitcases and groceries up and we were asleep by 6:00 p.m. Kiev time (it is 9 hours ahead here). We all awoke at various times throughout the night. Syd got up at 3:00 a.m., then I got up at 4:30 and last but not least, Dan at 5:00 a.m. We had an appointment with Dr. Yuri at 11:15 a.m. to review some possible health issues we may see at our appointment. He is a very nice man and we feel really good about meeting with him.

The driving here is very fast and crazy. There are no seatbelts to use (they are all tucked in under the seats). Our taxi driver that took us to our appointment today had some anger issues and at one point got out of the car to yell at another driver. The driver we had on the way back was much nicer but still drove really fast.

We spent the afternoon with friends from Regina that are here in the final stages of their adoption. It was great to see them. They took us around downtown and showed us the ropes. Our apartment is right in the hub of downtown so it is quite noisy and lots of traffic. The apartment is pretty good. Once we know where we will be after next week, we can actually unpack our suitcases and settle in. To M & M who helped us pack, you will be happy to know that we were told we packed light! We will be grateful for this everytime we have to haul the suitcases up and down all those stairs.

The weather is sunny and hot. It is a bit stressful not being able to communicate or read anything but we know now of a few places that have English. We have to sign off now... jet lag setting in. Our appointment is on Thursday. We will let you know about how it went as soon after as we can. I can't seem to get an internet connection on our laptop, so it looks like we will be relying on internet cafes. Bye for now!

A Good Omen

We are in the final coutdown. We leave in 3 days! It has been a very busy week shopping and packing for our trip. Everytime I think we have everything we need, I think of something else. We are really looking forward to when the packing is done and we are on the plane enroute to Kiev.

I wanted to share this story before we leave. When we first received our appointment date of June 12, my husband Dan and I looked at the date as a good omen because our daughter Sydney was born on the 12th and Dan and I started dating on the 12th, so it appeared that the number "12" was a very good number for us. Over the last few months since we received our appointment date, I have always looked to that "good omen" when I started to get nervous or scared about what lies ahead. Last weekend, we were rearranging beds and furniture between Sydney's bedroom and our child-to-be's bedroom. When Sydney turned 7, we redid her bedroom which included a bench with baskets underneath for her clothes. This bench will now be in our new child's bedroom. Dan and his friend built the bench and signed/dated it on the day it was finished. When we took the seat off of the bench to move it, Sydney noticed the date first... June 12, 2004! We now know the 12th is a very lucky and significant date in our family.

Goodbye for now!. I will post again once we are in Kiev.