Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Spending time with the kids while Terry is in the US
I haven’t written in the blog for a while. I have been spending time with the kids at the orphanage asking them questions and getting to know them. When I am not with the kids, I have been enjoying some good ole R & R, reading and studying the bible (something I love to do and don’t get enough time at home to do). On 6/17 I officially asked Keyril to be our son. On 6/18 Victor and I took both kids to get passport pictures, which Victor did not like because they “looked like photocopies”, and not good passport pictures. While we waited for the passport pictures Victor, Alina and Matthew got their hair cut. Alina got her hair dyed blonde. Her roots were brownish. I am still wondering what her natural hair color is and is it so bad. I think Victor left for Kiev that night because Lisa and Dan Dipiazzio were coming to Ukraine to get Dima. On 6/19 toward the end of my visit, I saw Keyril (Matthew) and a lady with long blondish hair walking out of the orphanage grounds toward the market place. Alina yelled for him, but he couldn’t hear or was ignoring her. Marina and I and (I am sure) Alina were wondering who this lady was. I asked if she was a teacher or worker at the orphanage and Marina said she didn’t think so. On 6/20 I came to the orphanage to take Alina and Matthew to lunch. It was then that Alina told me that Matthew had told her he had been crying all night and did not sleep. Apparently he had told his mother who had come to see him (out of the blue?) that he was being adopted. She got angry and stomped off and left the orphanage. He thought his mother would not allow him to leave and be adopted. I understood that the grandma was more active in his life, but wanted him adopted because she had many children of her own to include a 15 year old and could not take care of Keyril (I think Keyril told me this). I didn’t know what to say or do so Marina, Alina and Matthew went to lunch at an Armenian restaurant. It was nice it had a pond with fish and grass with a big fish tank inside. It was the nicest restaurant I have been to so far. After we ate at the restaurant I knew I needed to talk to Keyril. So I told Vladimir the cab driver to please wait, I had to go talk to my son. I found him in a classroom and asked if we could have some privacy. There were several other boys in the classroom. I told him I cared about him and did not know he was sad. I let him know that I wanted to be his mom every day and I gave him my phone number. Even though I could not speak Russian and he could not speak English, on top of him not having a phone, I wanted him to know I really wanted to be there for him. I told him if we were at home and he was sad or crying he could come find me and knock on my door and I would be there for him. I cared about him and wanted him to be happy regardless if that was in Ukraine or the United States. I told him he had a difficult decision to make and that I would support him. Marina told him that his mother did not have parental rights and could not keep him from going to America. Alina said “So are you coming to America or not”? As if the answer was obvious. From that time on Matthew seemed to be okay and expressed his desire to come with me to America. Woo Hoo!!! From 6/21 to 6/23 there is not much to tell. I continued to visit the kids at the orphanage. Before the kids went to Berdyansk on 6/24 I talked to Ekaterina about Matthew and his mother’s visit. She told me she would talk to him about his options. I don’t mean to be so flat about it, but it would be stay in the orphanage and maybe mom would visit (2-3 visits in the past 2-3 years) or go with the Steens. I realized this might be his one shot at a real family!! Maybe he knows that too although he is young. In the past week, I did find out that Matthew has never seen Terry. Not even when we came to the orphanage the first time to see Alina. I also found out that Matthew cuts his own toenails and likes to take a bath every day, but only takes a bath every other day. Alina likes this apple soda and is hungry all the time. I think she is in full-blown puberty. She did not have breasts last year from what Terry told me and from the pictures from last year. Matthew and Alina left the orphanage very early on 6/24 to go to Berdyansk. I stayed in Zaporizhia while Victor wrapped up the inspector meeting, the meeting with Ekaterina and paperwork with the DiPiazzios’ family for Dima’s adoption on 6/24 and 6/25. We left on 6/26 and I got to see my kids at the camp. We splashed around at the beach and ate. On the way back to camp from the beach we stopped and got ice cream. Alina beat everyone up to the top of the hill so Victor gave her 10 grivna so she bought a sandwich (she is always so hungry). We where walking and Keyril had toys in his chip bag. There was a gun with 2 suction cup arrows with it. Alina, Keyril, Dan and Victor were running around shooting each other with it. While watching the kids play soccer and playing with stickers, I had Victor tell Keyril his name will be Matthew James in the United States. He said, “Yes” and smiled and nodded so I am guessing he likes his new name and everything is okay with that. Victor told me to just pick a name for him because he is so young instead of asking him like we did for Alina (Elizabeth). We were there for about 2 hours. I saw Vitalik Suchkov again and think about how he could have been my son because he is an only child and is available for adoption. I felt kind of bad for him and would like to see him adopted. Alina ate 2 bananas, chips, 2 granola bars, apple soda and I don’t know what else. Like I said she is always hungry right now. It is 6/28 and Terry arrived in Kiev yesterday. He took the train to Zap and is now on a bus to Berdyansk. We have been blessed to be staying at the church Fran and the Scweikerts stayed at here in Berdyansk. It is far away from the beach, markets and camp, but is only $10 a night. Where can you find a place like that anywhere? God is blessing us. Victor bought a router so we can have WiFi here in the apartment and the Dipiazzios and us (Steens) will pay half and donate the router to the church.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Terry’s return a.k.a. “I’m baaaaack!”.
It’s been what feels like a month since I left. It was extremely hard for me to go. My heart said “yes... we’re on our way”, but, it also said “this aint over yet, and you might not see Alina again still”. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a faith walk and I do trust in God that He brought me here, but, just because He brought me here does not mean that His plan was for THIS adoption. It very well could be a pure character building experience, or a test of my faith in Him to build me up in a trial. In either case, I am certain that what bothered me and made me so fearful is that I know that this is His, and not mine. What happens here will be because Jennifer and I do things like file papers, etc… but, the actual events will be 100% the result of God’s will. We can file papers, like up boys for weeks to evaluate and petition time and time again… but if my Lord is not on board, I have accepted that it will not happen, and that’s what I want most of all. To experience only what He desires for me, my wife, my family as it is, and my family as it will become. You see, we are not so much adopting as giving ourselves to children that God has already adopted for Himself. How dare we assume that we should just take from Him that which we desire for ourselves? No. Instead, we are asking the Lord who we may serve in His place, in flesh, that He would be real to them in the physical. These are not our children, but His, and while we will receive a huge blessing… our real purpose is to serve Him. May it be so.
Anyway, there has been a fairly rough fight going on since the last time I wrote something. Since we only see the physical realm and tent to respond to it more than we do the spiritual realm, that’s where the devil likes to abide. When I left, all was well, moving along nicely, and we had tons of good wishes and support. We had a referral for a second child and Jennifer was on her way to see him and seek to know if we should be his parents. I was on my way back to attend the graduation of our oldest, Jessica, to work, and to prepare the home a bit more for the arrival of our new ones.
Once out of the country, things seemed to go well. My father was in from Missouri with his wife for the graduation, Jennifer was meeting the child we had a referral for, and it seems to have been continuing as it was before, but something was happening behind the scenes on both fronts. For Jennifer, she was about to be ambushed politically, emotionally, financially, and environmentally.
The local authorities, the chief and deputies of the region need to bless the adoption. The deputy had already, but not the chief. Instead of blessing it, he chose to call Jennifer in for questioning. Not just questioning, but he insulted our relationship and cast horrific accusations at her concerning us and our motives. This is more impactful since she is alone and does not have her hubby to jump in and help. She is having issues with the kids not being interested in spending time in games, bonding, learning English, or anything of such for long, but they have become accustom to being treated by visiting Americans and so it’s chips, soda, the market, etc. So, she has spent less time with them. Yeah, more alone time! This combined with having only enough to make it until I return has her a little bummed out I am certain.
On my side, I got home, tried to get slightly settled, got some rest and woke up at ten on Friday to be told my dad’s wife took ill and they left. So I was hurt. I later found that they did not leave and was happy, but she didn’t look well at all. We had pre-graduation dinner and later that night my dad called at 1:30AM to tell me they were going to the hospital and he was following an ambulance there. I had a house of kids and was still not recovered from my trip, so I asked him if he was alright being alone and he said yes. The next day I went there and found she was recovering from congestive heart failure and would be there for 3-4 days. That day, Jessica was graduating. Taylor didn’t know about Bella and found out after the ceremony and started to fall apart because she had dreamt something like this would happen and blamed herself for not stopping them.
Jessica graduated and left for camp with Taylor. I jumped into trying to manage the house, my work, get things ready for the kids when they get here, and take care of my father who truly needs it. He is hurt, frightened, and needs the security of him. He thinks he can get around notes and drawings, but detailed map quests are the only thing keeping him from ending up in the wrong city before he calls for help. Cecilia and Zachary are acting like they don’t know how to clean up their own messes and wonder why ‘the maid’ is not going to clean up after them. Zach has decided to leave chairs at every cabinet and leave them open because it’s too difficult to remember to put it away or close a door… it’s funny… take away tv, video games, and movies… they figure out how to do stuff again. Well, they messed up a few times in a major way, but grace is a great source of self control .
Okay, long story short: God is pounding Jen in a fire and building strength and increasing our bond to help her survive. She is getting some alone time that she needed, and the kids are learning that we are there for them… not for giving them stuff, even though they will receive.
I am learning of Gods faithfulness. He said that He will not give you more than you can bare… I do not think it’s temptation. I think it’s everything. I looked down the cooridore of time this week and said “I can’t make it Lord, help me!” He always just said “I have already provided for you” in my spirit, but nothing in the brain, mind, or body for the tasks at hand. I was tiered, fatigued, and there were 150% more tasks and requests than I could bear. I held to what I felt and would say, “if there is a way through this week Lord, it will be by you”. On Wednesday night the AC went out. It was still coming.
Friday, I did some work for Victor and blew off my work at the office, electing to take it with me instead… it has been killer hard, but I am here... tiered, the house is alright, and I am getting caught up on my work. God has my back, but He can only help me when I let Him. It’s all good.
Good news: Jens building strength, we are building new things in our relationship, the existing family is getting a stronger grip on their relationships and responsibilities, I am enjoying trust in very dark times, and my dads wife found several misdiagnosed medical conditions that she is getting help for now because she came.
The plots of the evil one are proving the Lord to be wiser and more able to seek victory. Now I need to break out of this coffee shop, get on a train, and sleep harder that I have in this entire adventure. See you tomorrow Elizabeth, and Matthew… I look forward to meeting you and receiving you as my son.
It’s good to be back! Viva La Beeze Gas (means carrying gas) guess you gotta come here to understand that.
Anyway, there has been a fairly rough fight going on since the last time I wrote something. Since we only see the physical realm and tent to respond to it more than we do the spiritual realm, that’s where the devil likes to abide. When I left, all was well, moving along nicely, and we had tons of good wishes and support. We had a referral for a second child and Jennifer was on her way to see him and seek to know if we should be his parents. I was on my way back to attend the graduation of our oldest, Jessica, to work, and to prepare the home a bit more for the arrival of our new ones.
Once out of the country, things seemed to go well. My father was in from Missouri with his wife for the graduation, Jennifer was meeting the child we had a referral for, and it seems to have been continuing as it was before, but something was happening behind the scenes on both fronts. For Jennifer, she was about to be ambushed politically, emotionally, financially, and environmentally.
The local authorities, the chief and deputies of the region need to bless the adoption. The deputy had already, but not the chief. Instead of blessing it, he chose to call Jennifer in for questioning. Not just questioning, but he insulted our relationship and cast horrific accusations at her concerning us and our motives. This is more impactful since she is alone and does not have her hubby to jump in and help. She is having issues with the kids not being interested in spending time in games, bonding, learning English, or anything of such for long, but they have become accustom to being treated by visiting Americans and so it’s chips, soda, the market, etc. So, she has spent less time with them. Yeah, more alone time! This combined with having only enough to make it until I return has her a little bummed out I am certain.
On my side, I got home, tried to get slightly settled, got some rest and woke up at ten on Friday to be told my dad’s wife took ill and they left. So I was hurt. I later found that they did not leave and was happy, but she didn’t look well at all. We had pre-graduation dinner and later that night my dad called at 1:30AM to tell me they were going to the hospital and he was following an ambulance there. I had a house of kids and was still not recovered from my trip, so I asked him if he was alright being alone and he said yes. The next day I went there and found she was recovering from congestive heart failure and would be there for 3-4 days. That day, Jessica was graduating. Taylor didn’t know about Bella and found out after the ceremony and started to fall apart because she had dreamt something like this would happen and blamed herself for not stopping them.
Jessica graduated and left for camp with Taylor. I jumped into trying to manage the house, my work, get things ready for the kids when they get here, and take care of my father who truly needs it. He is hurt, frightened, and needs the security of him. He thinks he can get around notes and drawings, but detailed map quests are the only thing keeping him from ending up in the wrong city before he calls for help. Cecilia and Zachary are acting like they don’t know how to clean up their own messes and wonder why ‘the maid’ is not going to clean up after them. Zach has decided to leave chairs at every cabinet and leave them open because it’s too difficult to remember to put it away or close a door… it’s funny… take away tv, video games, and movies… they figure out how to do stuff again. Well, they messed up a few times in a major way, but grace is a great source of self control .
Okay, long story short: God is pounding Jen in a fire and building strength and increasing our bond to help her survive. She is getting some alone time that she needed, and the kids are learning that we are there for them… not for giving them stuff, even though they will receive.
I am learning of Gods faithfulness. He said that He will not give you more than you can bare… I do not think it’s temptation. I think it’s everything. I looked down the cooridore of time this week and said “I can’t make it Lord, help me!” He always just said “I have already provided for you” in my spirit, but nothing in the brain, mind, or body for the tasks at hand. I was tiered, fatigued, and there were 150% more tasks and requests than I could bear. I held to what I felt and would say, “if there is a way through this week Lord, it will be by you”. On Wednesday night the AC went out. It was still coming.
Friday, I did some work for Victor and blew off my work at the office, electing to take it with me instead… it has been killer hard, but I am here... tiered, the house is alright, and I am getting caught up on my work. God has my back, but He can only help me when I let Him. It’s all good.
Good news: Jens building strength, we are building new things in our relationship, the existing family is getting a stronger grip on their relationships and responsibilities, I am enjoying trust in very dark times, and my dads wife found several misdiagnosed medical conditions that she is getting help for now because she came.
The plots of the evil one are proving the Lord to be wiser and more able to seek victory. Now I need to break out of this coffee shop, get on a train, and sleep harder that I have in this entire adventure. See you tomorrow Elizabeth, and Matthew… I look forward to meeting you and receiving you as my son.
It’s good to be back! Viva La Beeze Gas (means carrying gas) guess you gotta come here to understand that.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The path for the boy… so far
As told earlier, we left a space for a child in our paperwork. I turned out that Elizabeth had no siblings and we chose to pursue this slot as a young boy. We made plans for such, and since I was brought to Elizabeth, I felt Jennifer would be brought to the son. She was searching through the resource information we had. We spoke to Victor and Jessica. The problems are that the child needs to not have siblings; otherwise we would need to go to court to break the family. There are ages we considered for a fit, etc. We had considered Vatalik the fit for weeks. We went with the intent that this will be a child that God had wants to have a home with us. It’s a fun and scary thing to throw yourself into the river of God like a leaf in a river to see what happens.
On the day we arrived at the orphanage, I was shocked when Elizabeth actually wanted to help us find a child rather than being jealous. I would have expected her to resent that we were not going to return with just her, but she did the opposite. It was great. We were surprised when she said that she didn’t want him as a brother. We found other things that excluded him as a choice. We then did a search of others available. Victor did everything else he could to find the child with us. After a few days and no boys, we agreed that we were making the choice to narrow and if it’s Gods choice, He must have control. So, boy or girl, whatever age He gives us. We considered 2 girls that might be available that Elizabeth would like. We considered them, but were not seeking them. We then found a boy that was that sounded right, but we should move quickly.
Victor scheduled an appointment for us to be as soon as he could. It was amazing that they said he may be able to get an appointment in 2 days if we go. We could get the appointment and referral before I go. We hoped on the train the Kiev, stayed a day in the apartment and waited. Victor tried to get us in at 1:00 and we could not, but did say that they would see us if we come back at 4:00. So we returned ready to go at 4:00. We waited for quite a while, and they called him in. He returned to tell us that they boy is now available for international adoption in one month. He then said “maybe you should quit now”… this to us means he sees that all hope is gone and we have exhausted our options.
We still have the appointment, we need to at least say that we cannot wait, and thank you. We went in, and told them our time limit. The lady handling the cases told us she might be able to help. She dug into her binders of tears in the book shelves. She found two boys. Victor translating the profiles and found that they would not be possible. So we returned them. I told Jennifer, maybe the two girls. She said, I don’t know… I said it would be better to ask now that regret later… the lady put the binder away and grabbed another… Victor said, you should stop now. He believes it is absolutely not going to happen. I looked at the lady who was frantically searching the pages with more passion than I could imagine. She said something, Victor said “she said, we have to do what we can to give another child happiness”, then he said “do you want to stop”, and I looked back at her and told him that I need to let her finish, she needs this.
She pulled out two profiles and said they might work. The first one made my heart light and my stomach tight. My heart said ‘this is it’. Victor looked at them and rejected the other one as before. I kept watching as he read the one I reacted to when he said, “I think this boy may be good” to us. We looked over it together and Victor read the details to us. He is a little older, but this is something I know will be Jennifer’s walk, and not mine. I told her that I am good and told her this may be our son. She agreed and we had Victor ask for the referral, which he did and the SDA representative looked as if one of her own children were just rescued. So the next day, we showed at 4:00 to get the referral.
Here is the situation: I am leaving for America the next day. I have granted Jennifer authority to petition the inspector, the child, and the SDA for use to be allowed to adopt this child without me present. So, she left on the overnight train to ask a child that she has never met if he would like to be part of a family that he knows nothing about. I am leaving Ukraine and was only able to call and verify that they have found the boy, he has a cast on his arm and Elizabeth likes him. There is a meeting at the inspectors’ office in 30 minutes.
With that, the aircraft is preparing to taxi and I must say goodbye, turn off my cell phone, and wait to see what God does sometime in the next 24 hours.
In an orphanage, in Ukraine, God is at work. In a home in Virginia, we are waiting to be blessed to serve Him in these children. As I return to the United States, my blogging now ends for a time. I look forward to reading the journals of my wife, who will tell me the story from a third the way around the world.
On the day we arrived at the orphanage, I was shocked when Elizabeth actually wanted to help us find a child rather than being jealous. I would have expected her to resent that we were not going to return with just her, but she did the opposite. It was great. We were surprised when she said that she didn’t want him as a brother. We found other things that excluded him as a choice. We then did a search of others available. Victor did everything else he could to find the child with us. After a few days and no boys, we agreed that we were making the choice to narrow and if it’s Gods choice, He must have control. So, boy or girl, whatever age He gives us. We considered 2 girls that might be available that Elizabeth would like. We considered them, but were not seeking them. We then found a boy that was that sounded right, but we should move quickly.
Victor scheduled an appointment for us to be as soon as he could. It was amazing that they said he may be able to get an appointment in 2 days if we go. We could get the appointment and referral before I go. We hoped on the train the Kiev, stayed a day in the apartment and waited. Victor tried to get us in at 1:00 and we could not, but did say that they would see us if we come back at 4:00. So we returned ready to go at 4:00. We waited for quite a while, and they called him in. He returned to tell us that they boy is now available for international adoption in one month. He then said “maybe you should quit now”… this to us means he sees that all hope is gone and we have exhausted our options.
We still have the appointment, we need to at least say that we cannot wait, and thank you. We went in, and told them our time limit. The lady handling the cases told us she might be able to help. She dug into her binders of tears in the book shelves. She found two boys. Victor translating the profiles and found that they would not be possible. So we returned them. I told Jennifer, maybe the two girls. She said, I don’t know… I said it would be better to ask now that regret later… the lady put the binder away and grabbed another… Victor said, you should stop now. He believes it is absolutely not going to happen. I looked at the lady who was frantically searching the pages with more passion than I could imagine. She said something, Victor said “she said, we have to do what we can to give another child happiness”, then he said “do you want to stop”, and I looked back at her and told him that I need to let her finish, she needs this.
She pulled out two profiles and said they might work. The first one made my heart light and my stomach tight. My heart said ‘this is it’. Victor looked at them and rejected the other one as before. I kept watching as he read the one I reacted to when he said, “I think this boy may be good” to us. We looked over it together and Victor read the details to us. He is a little older, but this is something I know will be Jennifer’s walk, and not mine. I told her that I am good and told her this may be our son. She agreed and we had Victor ask for the referral, which he did and the SDA representative looked as if one of her own children were just rescued. So the next day, we showed at 4:00 to get the referral.
Here is the situation: I am leaving for America the next day. I have granted Jennifer authority to petition the inspector, the child, and the SDA for use to be allowed to adopt this child without me present. So, she left on the overnight train to ask a child that she has never met if he would like to be part of a family that he knows nothing about. I am leaving Ukraine and was only able to call and verify that they have found the boy, he has a cast on his arm and Elizabeth likes him. There is a meeting at the inspectors’ office in 30 minutes.
With that, the aircraft is preparing to taxi and I must say goodbye, turn off my cell phone, and wait to see what God does sometime in the next 24 hours.
In an orphanage, in Ukraine, God is at work. In a home in Virginia, we are waiting to be blessed to serve Him in these children. As I return to the United States, my blogging now ends for a time. I look forward to reading the journals of my wife, who will tell me the story from a third the way around the world.
Time to get another referral
The mission trip was 9 months ago. We left America one week ago, we seen Elizabeth 3 days ago. Such a short time in the grand scale, and we need to leave already. To adopt a second child, we need a referral. We either go now, or wait until I return. Waiting will add far too much time to the journey, so we must go now. Today, we took a taxi to the orphanage, and will take one to the train station. We get a few hours, and then we must go. We were able to share gifts for the other children such as Dima and Tonya. We sat on the bench and looked at photos, and let Elizabeth take pictures.
I walked off and looked about the orphanage to see things I wanted to from before. I looked at the exhaust pipe for the kitchen we had built. What a shame… wish I were there to make them do it right. Then I thought that maybe they do not smoke in the places we use to catch them. So, I went to the two “hide outs” (more like known locations) and took photos of what I found… Americas best exported goods; Winston, New Kent, Salem, the entire gang was there. No, this is something that is the same.
It came time to leave, and my heart was torn of course. I know I am coming back, but, as we know… the obstacles are still there and the trials are still before us. So much could destroy what is so precious in our hands. So we left to catch our train. Victor has been so busy he has not been able to buy tickets. They were out of 2cnd class, and had 1st and third class only. We opted to get first class. Victor would not let us buy a ticket for him. He said he could go 3rd class or negotiate with the conductor to let him sleep in their compartment. They get extra money; he gets a place to ride. Nice, but we had him get a ticket in the cabin next to ours. Here’s the breakdown: 3rd class-6 beds/cabin, 70% chance of AC, 2nd class-4 beds/cabin, 80% chance of AC, 1st class-2 beds/cabin, 100% chance of AC. We couldn’t risk Victor sweltering in a 3rd class conductors compartment. He works to hard for us.
We talked and vented a few things that have been beating us up lately. I borrowed the modem from Victor and worked until about 1:30, then went to sleep. I love the train!
We have not spoken much of “the boy”, there is a reason… one that will be clear as time goes on. We are adopting Elizabeth because I felt God had called me to be her father, for use to provide her a home, and for God to become real in her life instead of a story, a book, or a fairy tale. I wish I could say it is because O decided I wanted a daughter, sought her out, decided she was the one and so we are on this adventure to bring her home. But it is not the case…
The path to adopt Elizabeth has been difficult and at times so stressful, painful, and impossible that we expected failure. We have had so much opposition that the fact that we even got on a plane is a true miracle. God has done as He always has… He made the path easy to walk when it is difficult and He provided light in the darkness. We did the work, made the calls, Jessica translated, and Victor intervened, but it has been hard. Faith is the vehicle that we rode here. It has been confirmed by Victor several times, some I have not blogged about yet. He has stood there with papers in hand, or walked out of a meeting, or hung up the phone to schedule and appointment. He has at least 4 times so far said “I don’t know how this has happened, it is a miracle”. He knows we are on a God walk here and he is sensitive to it. He knows that I feel the call for Elizabeth, and he has stood by our choices even though he once said that we should plan to give it up, that it may not work. The boy, he is another story…
When we set this up, we had to chose if we were getting Elizabeth, or others as well for the paperwork. We decided that our family could fit the addition of a young boy, or if she had siblings, we may need to adopt them as well, so we put 2 children in our paperwork. No plans, just for 2 children. A month before we left, we started to move forward preparing for a new 14 year old girl. But felt compelled to prepare for a boy also, so we, in faith, set up additional space with Zachary for a brother to share his room.
I will write more about the way God is moving for the boy in another entry, this is an amazing thing to watch. We can see Gods hands all over it, and this process has caused the word miracle to fall from Victors lips more than a few times.
I walked off and looked about the orphanage to see things I wanted to from before. I looked at the exhaust pipe for the kitchen we had built. What a shame… wish I were there to make them do it right. Then I thought that maybe they do not smoke in the places we use to catch them. So, I went to the two “hide outs” (more like known locations) and took photos of what I found… Americas best exported goods; Winston, New Kent, Salem, the entire gang was there. No, this is something that is the same.
It came time to leave, and my heart was torn of course. I know I am coming back, but, as we know… the obstacles are still there and the trials are still before us. So much could destroy what is so precious in our hands. So we left to catch our train. Victor has been so busy he has not been able to buy tickets. They were out of 2cnd class, and had 1st and third class only. We opted to get first class. Victor would not let us buy a ticket for him. He said he could go 3rd class or negotiate with the conductor to let him sleep in their compartment. They get extra money; he gets a place to ride. Nice, but we had him get a ticket in the cabin next to ours. Here’s the breakdown: 3rd class-6 beds/cabin, 70% chance of AC, 2nd class-4 beds/cabin, 80% chance of AC, 1st class-2 beds/cabin, 100% chance of AC. We couldn’t risk Victor sweltering in a 3rd class conductors compartment. He works to hard for us.
We talked and vented a few things that have been beating us up lately. I borrowed the modem from Victor and worked until about 1:30, then went to sleep. I love the train!
We have not spoken much of “the boy”, there is a reason… one that will be clear as time goes on. We are adopting Elizabeth because I felt God had called me to be her father, for use to provide her a home, and for God to become real in her life instead of a story, a book, or a fairy tale. I wish I could say it is because O decided I wanted a daughter, sought her out, decided she was the one and so we are on this adventure to bring her home. But it is not the case…
The path to adopt Elizabeth has been difficult and at times so stressful, painful, and impossible that we expected failure. We have had so much opposition that the fact that we even got on a plane is a true miracle. God has done as He always has… He made the path easy to walk when it is difficult and He provided light in the darkness. We did the work, made the calls, Jessica translated, and Victor intervened, but it has been hard. Faith is the vehicle that we rode here. It has been confirmed by Victor several times, some I have not blogged about yet. He has stood there with papers in hand, or walked out of a meeting, or hung up the phone to schedule and appointment. He has at least 4 times so far said “I don’t know how this has happened, it is a miracle”. He knows we are on a God walk here and he is sensitive to it. He knows that I feel the call for Elizabeth, and he has stood by our choices even though he once said that we should plan to give it up, that it may not work. The boy, he is another story…
When we set this up, we had to chose if we were getting Elizabeth, or others as well for the paperwork. We decided that our family could fit the addition of a young boy, or if she had siblings, we may need to adopt them as well, so we put 2 children in our paperwork. No plans, just for 2 children. A month before we left, we started to move forward preparing for a new 14 year old girl. But felt compelled to prepare for a boy also, so we, in faith, set up additional space with Zachary for a brother to share his room.
I will write more about the way God is moving for the boy in another entry, this is an amazing thing to watch. We can see Gods hands all over it, and this process has caused the word miracle to fall from Victors lips more than a few times.
For Dan or the next one to follow.
Okay, this is not a whiner post, this is a “If you’re gonna come over here, be ready, accept it, be thankful and be happy” post. There’s a lot of stuff that is going to challenge you if you expect to have everything normal like you are in a hotel in the US or something. These are the things that have challenged us to be able to maintain our loving, Christ-like composure on the trip so far. It’s always the LITTLE things that get ya. Some are Jet Lag, Internet, Cell Phones, Air Conditioning and refrigeration, Dishes, Laundry, Power adapters, and sleeping arrangements.
Jet Lag:
Normally, I rebound from it quickly. On this adventure it was difficult. One reason was we had some time where we were at the apartment just waiting. I realize not, that waiting any time before 2-4 pm gave our bodies a chance to go into deep rest or sleep mode extending the adjustment period. I would recommend Tylenol PM at 8PM and a few No-Doze in the morning with tea (unless you like instant coffee or want to walk 3 blocks to the café and get an espresso. Force your body into the routine and fight letting it keep Virginia time. If not, go to bed and get up 7 hours early in Virginia for a week before you leave for Ukraine.
Internet:
If you are in Kiev, the apartment we stayed in had a high speed cable modem. I was able to access the internet, open my VPN tunnel and work using my office computer in Williamsburg. No trouble. If you use the USB modem Victor has, you’ll get good service in Keiv and Zap, but on the train or other places, no promises. It cannot handle a VPN connection, and for some reason, shortly after the VPN tunnel is created, the modem disconnects. You may get 20-60 seconds of access. If you can do your tasks in that time, you are in, if not you’ll need a better source.
Solid internet that can acquire and hold for VPN can be found in the apartment in Kiev, Ask Victor ahead of time to have the owner secure the modem ahead of time. He removed it before our second visit. If not, in Kiev – good luck. There are internet hot spots just about everywhere, but finding one that’s free, or where you can get the password can be difficult. The one at McDonalds tried for 10 minutes at a stretch to connect, but nadda. In Zap, Coffee Life is great, but take some earplugs and headsets or the music will make your head explode if your there long.
If you use the modem card, you’ll lose service 10-15 minutes after you least major cities and it will not come back until you near a city again. Don’t plan on any internet on the train.
Cell Phones:
They are all the same – NOT! Just tell Victor you want a good one with good coverage. The one we got was good, but about 4 days after we got it, it lost the network, had sim card failures, etc. It worked, but not always, and we had to keep checking it so we knew Victor could contact us.
Air Conditioning and refrigeration:
Not to much to say. US rule of thumb: apx 1 Ton/500 square feet, Ukraine, more like 1500 square feet. Sweat is the name of the game! The refrigerator is good enough. I made jello, but don’t expect an icy cold glass of milk. Let some air out of the bottles, freeze your water, and keep it in either the freeze or refrigerator. It will melt when you take it with you, as you need it.
Dishes:
Small glasses, shallow bowls, if you want a big gulp size cup, bring it. Don’t plan on frying an egg, just go ahead and super-glue one to the pan.
Laundry:
The machines are small, best guess for controls, they’re worn off, in Russian, or don’t matter because the control system is broken. Ask Victor to show you the detergent for automatic washers and not hand washing as there is a difference. Be sure they got a good spin dry, and then hang them up. Ukraine has discovered that hanging clothes up will cause them to dry, foolish Americans use machines for this. This is also why there are irons in every apartment… you gotta iron out the clothesline creases.
Power adapters:
Bring enough, or bring a power strip. We had a strip, but if you don’t, you have chargers for laptops, cameras, MP3s, etc. You’ll want to charge them all at the same time at one time or another.
Sleeping arrangements:
Typically the living room has AC with a pull out (not comfy) couch or a sofa. If ya get hot, deal with the non-comfy couch/soafa or hush.
That’s about it. You’ll learn other stuff, like take off your shoes when you come in, don’t walk where you can see AC condensate puddles, street names are on the sides of buildings, etc. If you want something unique, try the lard balls or lard roll on bread down the street from the borsht house… mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Oh yeah, your kid will love dried or raw fish… it’s a shocker. Finally, if nothing else, learn the phonetics for the Russian alphabet. You’d be surprised how many things in Russian and Ukraine are exactly the same as English (ie БигМак= Big Mac).
Have fun!
Jet Lag:
Normally, I rebound from it quickly. On this adventure it was difficult. One reason was we had some time where we were at the apartment just waiting. I realize not, that waiting any time before 2-4 pm gave our bodies a chance to go into deep rest or sleep mode extending the adjustment period. I would recommend Tylenol PM at 8PM and a few No-Doze in the morning with tea (unless you like instant coffee or want to walk 3 blocks to the café and get an espresso. Force your body into the routine and fight letting it keep Virginia time. If not, go to bed and get up 7 hours early in Virginia for a week before you leave for Ukraine.
Internet:
If you are in Kiev, the apartment we stayed in had a high speed cable modem. I was able to access the internet, open my VPN tunnel and work using my office computer in Williamsburg. No trouble. If you use the USB modem Victor has, you’ll get good service in Keiv and Zap, but on the train or other places, no promises. It cannot handle a VPN connection, and for some reason, shortly after the VPN tunnel is created, the modem disconnects. You may get 20-60 seconds of access. If you can do your tasks in that time, you are in, if not you’ll need a better source.
Solid internet that can acquire and hold for VPN can be found in the apartment in Kiev, Ask Victor ahead of time to have the owner secure the modem ahead of time. He removed it before our second visit. If not, in Kiev – good luck. There are internet hot spots just about everywhere, but finding one that’s free, or where you can get the password can be difficult. The one at McDonalds tried for 10 minutes at a stretch to connect, but nadda. In Zap, Coffee Life is great, but take some earplugs and headsets or the music will make your head explode if your there long.
If you use the modem card, you’ll lose service 10-15 minutes after you least major cities and it will not come back until you near a city again. Don’t plan on any internet on the train.
Cell Phones:
They are all the same – NOT! Just tell Victor you want a good one with good coverage. The one we got was good, but about 4 days after we got it, it lost the network, had sim card failures, etc. It worked, but not always, and we had to keep checking it so we knew Victor could contact us.
Air Conditioning and refrigeration:
Not to much to say. US rule of thumb: apx 1 Ton/500 square feet, Ukraine, more like 1500 square feet. Sweat is the name of the game! The refrigerator is good enough. I made jello, but don’t expect an icy cold glass of milk. Let some air out of the bottles, freeze your water, and keep it in either the freeze or refrigerator. It will melt when you take it with you, as you need it.
Dishes:
Small glasses, shallow bowls, if you want a big gulp size cup, bring it. Don’t plan on frying an egg, just go ahead and super-glue one to the pan.
Laundry:
The machines are small, best guess for controls, they’re worn off, in Russian, or don’t matter because the control system is broken. Ask Victor to show you the detergent for automatic washers and not hand washing as there is a difference. Be sure they got a good spin dry, and then hang them up. Ukraine has discovered that hanging clothes up will cause them to dry, foolish Americans use machines for this. This is also why there are irons in every apartment… you gotta iron out the clothesline creases.
Power adapters:
Bring enough, or bring a power strip. We had a strip, but if you don’t, you have chargers for laptops, cameras, MP3s, etc. You’ll want to charge them all at the same time at one time or another.
Sleeping arrangements:
Typically the living room has AC with a pull out (not comfy) couch or a sofa. If ya get hot, deal with the non-comfy couch/soafa or hush.
That’s about it. You’ll learn other stuff, like take off your shoes when you come in, don’t walk where you can see AC condensate puddles, street names are on the sides of buildings, etc. If you want something unique, try the lard balls or lard roll on bread down the street from the borsht house… mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Oh yeah, your kid will love dried or raw fish… it’s a shocker. Finally, if nothing else, learn the phonetics for the Russian alphabet. You’d be surprised how many things in Russian and Ukraine are exactly the same as English (ie БигМак= Big Mac).
Have fun!
Back to the orphanage to see about a son
It is starting to be a big blur…..Last night I (Jennifer) left Kiev, Ukraine with Victor to see Elizabeth (aka Alina) and to see a boy (if he is in the orphanage, the director isn’t sure where he is at the moment). At this point, I have seen a picture of him, cannot pronounce his name, but know he has no brothers or sisters. He is 10 years old. This is way out of my comfort zone guys!! A day ago, Terry and I thought we were finished with looking for a boy from orphanage #3, and would just be taking Elizabeth home with us, but the lady at the SDA continued to look in the files and found two possible boys. We narrowed it down to this one boy. So Victor and I took the 11-hour train ride to Zaporozhye where the orphanage is located. I said good-bye to Terry. Today he is flying to go back to the US because our oldest daughter is graduating from high school. Unfortunately I cannot be there. I will be missing the youngest daughter’s moving up to middle school ceremony also. So we got off the train, went to the apartment, took a nap and then went to the orphanage. When I got to the orphanage we went to the second floor and I asked where Elizabeth (aka Alina) was. She was changing clothes or something so Victor and I walked into the computer room. I was looking around the room (trying to appear casual and not nosy) and there was several boys playing computer games. I was in there several minutes and didn’t realize “the boy” was in the room!!!!! Boy do I feel silly and weird at the same time! So Victor introduces me to the boy. I might have said a few sentences about Terry being here for the mission’s trip last year and does he remember. I think he said he remembered the trip and Terry, but I am not real sure…it happened so fast. During this time, in walks Elizabeth. Victor tells him she is being adopted…do you want to go with them? And his eyes got big and he said “Da” (Yes)! He then asked Elizabeth if she liked him and she said “Da”! That is it! I left the room and he continued to play computer games for a while. Elizabeth and I sat on a couch with a bunch of her friends and she went through my laptop case. I wanted to be with both of them, but did not want to leave Elizabeth with my laptop, cell phone, cash and numerous other things. I did talk to him a few minutes, but then left to see the inspector at 2 pm. We came back with the inspector and waited for Ecaterina for about an hour. She was not at the orphanage when we arrived. This meeting was shorter than Elizabeth’s meeting. We discussed many things, but Keril (pronounced Key-real) Denisov said he would like to be our son. Pretty fast I would say! He has a cast on his right arm that should be coming off in 5-6 days or so. Apparently he was running with his arms out and hit his right arm on a building. Imagine that! He reminds me of Zack!!! Anyway, he is left handed like Taylor and I. The rest of the day was spent showing him pictures of the family, playing games on the laptop and just talking in Ecaterina’s office. I then took Elizabeth to the store for sodas so she would not feel left out. In the end, both of them walked Victor and I to the bus stop outside the orphanage and I snapped a picture of the two of them together. They were both smiling! It was a good day. Tomorrow is more running around.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The day Alina went away
I stayed up way late to post pics, enter the blog and get some work done for my office. This was the first time I really had a chance to do any work and I was dismayed to discover that when I VPN into work, the air-card drops after 5-30 seconds. Sometimes it holds for a few minutes, but that requires a celebration. So I am thinking I will need to work harder in Kiev and take time off without leave while I am back for the second effort.
So, this morning I got up, did a load of laundry, made some hard boiled eggs, and tea. Later, Marina came by to pick up some things and to meet with us for a few, but I was in a bit of a hurry and Victor got us moving. We went to the trolley stop and caught the trolley and then changed to a bus. Victor is teaching us how to get around and what it costs for when Jennifer is here alone. Tomorrow, we will follow Jennifer so I hope she doesn’t take us to Moscow.
We went to the orphanage and got hugs, etc for a while, played with the baby Koshka (kitten) and then we did some business. With Victor with us, we were able to ask how you feel, what are you thinking, etc on both sides and were able to verify on both sides that we are all still very happy to have each other. After all, interpreting squeals, squeaks, and hisses is a job for Doctor Doolittle. Then the important thing, the event that made us not able to be with Alina any more.
Victor, Jennifer, and I asked her if she liked the name “Leah”, she said no because it is too much like a Ukraine boys name. So we used our backup “Elizabeth”, and she loved it. Her middle name: “Jane”, also loved. She wanted to have a typical American name, and we wanted a traditionally Christian names, so we gave her both. I am so glad that we had the chance to ensure the name not only fit us, but that she enjoyed her new name. So we said, your name is going to be “Elizabeth Jane Steen”! She smiled, and said “DA”, paused, and then “YES”! A few minutes later is when we realized “Alina” was gone… We were talking about something… nothing special and I said “Alina… “, where she stopped me and said “NO ALINA! ELIZABETH!”, so we recoiled and agreed. The rest of the afternoon, if you said Alina, she just responded “ELIZABETH!”… I think she likes her name very much. She is assuming her new identity.
So, we gave her a shirt with Virginia on it and a shower kit like the one we gave her teacher. She enjoyed spraying everyone’s pits with deodorant and we discussed our day since tomorrow I leave and she’ll be without me for 2 weeks. It was decided to go to the store and go have a beach picnic with her and her best friend Dasha. So Victor turned over his passport to essentially sign her out and off we went to the store. This time it was the same old one from the mission trip. Elizabeth is just like Alina (imagine that), in that she eats everything that crosses her path with passion. She wanted chips, sausages, cheese, soda, candy, seeds, etc. We limited it somewhat, but not enough to prevent us from all eating well and leaving her and Dasha chips to eat while watching TV.
We left the store and went down to the river where Victor lit a fire (one of the cool things you can’t do in the states just anywhere) and roasted sausages while Elizabeth and Dasha jumped into everything. They prepped for the sausages by putting ketchup and tons of mayo on some bread. Dang they like mayo! There I found that she rather enjoys pickles, pickled mushrooms, and pickle juice. YES! She’s like me! Then I found that she also enjoys eating dried, salted minnows. She kept offering them to me, and I finally ate one. Not bad… very salty, and after you eat them, the fish flavor bursts in your mouth as the fish reconstitutes. The big drawback is that they are so salty. She offered a third, but I couldn’t touch another, so I waved her off on that. Within a few minutes, she polished off a bag about the size of a regular McDonalds fry. It’s kinda cute, but a little disturbing that when she is enjoying something, she does a little thing where almost every part of her teeth are coated and she makes a big smile at you so you can see whatever she is enjoying. It’s funny, but I will be happy when she learns that is not something to do in America.
So we took photos, played a bit, and other things like looking at pics on the computer and listening to music. Elizabeth caught a frog and we took its picture. Then, when she was done with it, we signaled to put it back and she tossed it about 15+ feet to the little stream that she found it in. We hope it survived. A little while later, Victor found a snake and we all went to see… I thought she was gonna try to catch it also. She’s fun! We relaxed a little and Elizabeth laid down in mamas lap and Jennifer braided her hair. I have seen her relaxed and docile before, but never like this. She’s looking forward to a mama. I guess all girls would who have gone without.
So eventually, her and Dasha got us and said something. Victor said “they are going swimming now”. They were both in shirts and shorts or pants. I asked Victor “With their cloths on?!”… Victor said, “No… they will take them off and swim naked”. “What! No way!”… I started towards the dock. I know I am supposed to let them “keep being the orphan” until after court, but I can’t let my daughter swim around like that… especially with these boys around. I stopped and asked Victor from about 20 feet away “Are you serious”, and he was just laughing… so I came back, got the camera and ran to get some photos. I looked at the dock, and decided I could only go so far and I was on my way there and they started yelling “NO!!!!” at me. What rejection! I just wanted to get some pics, so I went to where I was going to stop and they started yelling real load… so I called Victor on the cell phone so I could find out what was up. He came over and said that they are afraid that if you walk on the bridge it will collapse. I thought it was funny because that is why I didn’t walk on it last year. So we went back a little and I took photos of Elizabeth and Dasha. I asked Victor about if it would be good to have the missions team rebuild and improve the dock for them. I had been told that fishermen might take it over and the kids would not get to swim. He said that “this is not true, it would be very good for them”, so mission team, take notes. There are two docks here that could be worked on. The one the kids use most heads out about 35-40 feet, then has a 5’ wide platform. There are no ladders! They get back out of the water by walking up the dock to where they can get out, pull themselves up and roll over onto the dock. It would rock to rebuild the entire thing. A real gang plank to the dock the new dock that is little wider with two ladders on each end would rock. Many more will go swimming if we did this.
So, we went back and spent a little time with a few other kids before we left for the day. It was the best day ever… Lot’s of fun, lots of bonding. We are feeling the family forming. So yes, it was hard to say goodbye to Alina forever, but Elizabeth is so sweet, and is Alina all over, but in addition, she truly is part of our family. Thank you God for the deep love and the bonding that you are giving us, you are so good past we could ever imagine.
It was a great day!
So, this morning I got up, did a load of laundry, made some hard boiled eggs, and tea. Later, Marina came by to pick up some things and to meet with us for a few, but I was in a bit of a hurry and Victor got us moving. We went to the trolley stop and caught the trolley and then changed to a bus. Victor is teaching us how to get around and what it costs for when Jennifer is here alone. Tomorrow, we will follow Jennifer so I hope she doesn’t take us to Moscow.
We went to the orphanage and got hugs, etc for a while, played with the baby Koshka (kitten) and then we did some business. With Victor with us, we were able to ask how you feel, what are you thinking, etc on both sides and were able to verify on both sides that we are all still very happy to have each other. After all, interpreting squeals, squeaks, and hisses is a job for Doctor Doolittle. Then the important thing, the event that made us not able to be with Alina any more.
Victor, Jennifer, and I asked her if she liked the name “Leah”, she said no because it is too much like a Ukraine boys name. So we used our backup “Elizabeth”, and she loved it. Her middle name: “Jane”, also loved. She wanted to have a typical American name, and we wanted a traditionally Christian names, so we gave her both. I am so glad that we had the chance to ensure the name not only fit us, but that she enjoyed her new name. So we said, your name is going to be “Elizabeth Jane Steen”! She smiled, and said “DA”, paused, and then “YES”! A few minutes later is when we realized “Alina” was gone… We were talking about something… nothing special and I said “Alina… “, where she stopped me and said “NO ALINA! ELIZABETH!”, so we recoiled and agreed. The rest of the afternoon, if you said Alina, she just responded “ELIZABETH!”… I think she likes her name very much. She is assuming her new identity.
So, we gave her a shirt with Virginia on it and a shower kit like the one we gave her teacher. She enjoyed spraying everyone’s pits with deodorant and we discussed our day since tomorrow I leave and she’ll be without me for 2 weeks. It was decided to go to the store and go have a beach picnic with her and her best friend Dasha. So Victor turned over his passport to essentially sign her out and off we went to the store. This time it was the same old one from the mission trip. Elizabeth is just like Alina (imagine that), in that she eats everything that crosses her path with passion. She wanted chips, sausages, cheese, soda, candy, seeds, etc. We limited it somewhat, but not enough to prevent us from all eating well and leaving her and Dasha chips to eat while watching TV.
We left the store and went down to the river where Victor lit a fire (one of the cool things you can’t do in the states just anywhere) and roasted sausages while Elizabeth and Dasha jumped into everything. They prepped for the sausages by putting ketchup and tons of mayo on some bread. Dang they like mayo! There I found that she rather enjoys pickles, pickled mushrooms, and pickle juice. YES! She’s like me! Then I found that she also enjoys eating dried, salted minnows. She kept offering them to me, and I finally ate one. Not bad… very salty, and after you eat them, the fish flavor bursts in your mouth as the fish reconstitutes. The big drawback is that they are so salty. She offered a third, but I couldn’t touch another, so I waved her off on that. Within a few minutes, she polished off a bag about the size of a regular McDonalds fry. It’s kinda cute, but a little disturbing that when she is enjoying something, she does a little thing where almost every part of her teeth are coated and she makes a big smile at you so you can see whatever she is enjoying. It’s funny, but I will be happy when she learns that is not something to do in America.
So we took photos, played a bit, and other things like looking at pics on the computer and listening to music. Elizabeth caught a frog and we took its picture. Then, when she was done with it, we signaled to put it back and she tossed it about 15+ feet to the little stream that she found it in. We hope it survived. A little while later, Victor found a snake and we all went to see… I thought she was gonna try to catch it also. She’s fun! We relaxed a little and Elizabeth laid down in mamas lap and Jennifer braided her hair. I have seen her relaxed and docile before, but never like this. She’s looking forward to a mama. I guess all girls would who have gone without.
So eventually, her and Dasha got us and said something. Victor said “they are going swimming now”. They were both in shirts and shorts or pants. I asked Victor “With their cloths on?!”… Victor said, “No… they will take them off and swim naked”. “What! No way!”… I started towards the dock. I know I am supposed to let them “keep being the orphan” until after court, but I can’t let my daughter swim around like that… especially with these boys around. I stopped and asked Victor from about 20 feet away “Are you serious”, and he was just laughing… so I came back, got the camera and ran to get some photos. I looked at the dock, and decided I could only go so far and I was on my way there and they started yelling “NO!!!!” at me. What rejection! I just wanted to get some pics, so I went to where I was going to stop and they started yelling real load… so I called Victor on the cell phone so I could find out what was up. He came over and said that they are afraid that if you walk on the bridge it will collapse. I thought it was funny because that is why I didn’t walk on it last year. So we went back a little and I took photos of Elizabeth and Dasha. I asked Victor about if it would be good to have the missions team rebuild and improve the dock for them. I had been told that fishermen might take it over and the kids would not get to swim. He said that “this is not true, it would be very good for them”, so mission team, take notes. There are two docks here that could be worked on. The one the kids use most heads out about 35-40 feet, then has a 5’ wide platform. There are no ladders! They get back out of the water by walking up the dock to where they can get out, pull themselves up and roll over onto the dock. It would rock to rebuild the entire thing. A real gang plank to the dock the new dock that is little wider with two ladders on each end would rock. Many more will go swimming if we did this.
So, we went back and spent a little time with a few other kids before we left for the day. It was the best day ever… Lot’s of fun, lots of bonding. We are feeling the family forming. So yes, it was hard to say goodbye to Alina forever, but Elizabeth is so sweet, and is Alina all over, but in addition, she truly is part of our family. Thank you God for the deep love and the bonding that you are giving us, you are so good past we could ever imagine.
It was a great day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)