WHAT A MIRACLE!!!!

We will have E's passport at 9:00 am tomorrow morning!!!!  It is on an overnight train to us in Kiev RIGHT NOW!!!!  We will rush to pick-up her medicals results and then head to the embassy to get her visa and then we will be on a plane to America on Wednesday!!!  

Here is why its a miracle....first off....its Ukraine, nothing is done quickly here....or exactly the same for that matter.  Second, the passport "normally" takes a minimum of 5-10 business days to receive.  E's passport?????? 3 BUSINESS DAYS!!!!!  That's right, 3 business days.  I cried and screamed "Praise Jesus" in the middle of McDonalds here in Ukraine (that's where we were when we got the call). 

I have to give thanks to The Lord too, because E is really acting like herself again.  She has not even talked on her cell phone today!!!!!!  That is HUGE!!!!  We went to Sky Mall, which reminds you of a large American indoor mall.  E needed shoes (the only pair she has is the pair she is wearing, which I bought for her when she was in the orphanage).  We were also shopping with the other adoptive family that is staying at the missionary house, thier daughter M....and we met up with ANOTHER adoptive mom and her son D.  Ok, so D is a little cutie and I think E thought so too.  But the BEST part was that she yet another child that was going to America.  Now both M and D will be living in Alabama, so I am already making arrangements for us to visit Alabama this summer!!  I just SO excited to see E laughing and having such a good time.  I think it was also reassuring to her to met kids here that she knows she will see in America.  

FYI, here is a picture by a car at the mall she wanted me to take. She is so funny.  

OHHHH, another special moment today.....she came out of her room this morning and her hair was all frizzed out.  She points to her hair and says "Maaaaama!"  So I went to her room with her and flat ironed her hair for her.  Woohoo, its these little things that just fill my heart with joy!!!

BTW, speaking of hair, J took L to get her hair done too.  She went shorter!  So cute. And I'll throw a picture of F in for good measure.

Please pray for all our processes tomorrow to go smoothly and for safe travels on Wedneday!!

Love to you all!!!

The Great Yo-Yo

Things have been so up and down with E, but mostly down.  She has enclosed herself in her room at the home where we are staying.  BUT.....there are signs that my sweet daughter I met in the orphanage is still there.

We are staying with an incredible missionary couple.  I think I have mentioned that before, but it is worth mentioning again....they are INCREDIBLE!!!  So on Saturday, they spent the morning with E and I, showing her parts of Kiev.  We went into Maidan which is where the protestors have barricaded themselves for the past month.  All I could say was WOW!!!  To see all these people, staying in the cold, day and night, trying to fight for a better government.  I don't think, right now, E truly appreciates being there but one day when she's older and has a better comprehension, she will be blessed to have been included in that part of history.

So some "Mom Highlights."  1) She posed with me for a picture, 2) She actually put both arms around me...like a hug...for the pictures, 3) She ate lunch, 4) we laughed while I showed her how to use the tokens for the metro, and 5) she gave me a kiss when I bought her a traditional Ukrainian shirt.  And just before you criticize that and say "of course she kissed you, you bought her something."  Let me give you 6) I asked to buy her the shirt...she said "Nyet"...I said "pozhaluysta (please) for Mama" (with a pitty face) and she agreed.  She really does appreciate having this shirt.  She may never wear it, but it was important to me that she had this from her country.

But when we got back to the house.....in her room she went.  There was even a gathering at the house with 3 other adoptive families and their Ukrainian children (one of which is staying at this house too).  She wanted no part of it and no part of befriending the daughter of the family staying here too.  So, I let her stay in her room and just told her we were leaving at 1:45 pm to go to church the next day.  She said, OK.

So today, we both slept in.  She was up and dressed when I went in her room to check on her.  We arrived at church and we helped with setting up the chairs.  She asked (on the translator) "What happens next?"  I told her "church."   This is an international church.  The missionary couple we are staying with are the pastors at the church.  The sermon is in English but there are headsets people can wear to hear the Russian translation.   E wore her headset the ENTIRE time!!!  After church, we all (the missionaries, the other adoptive family and their daughter...I'll call her M, and us) got on the metro to head home.  While on the metro, the walls came down and E and M started talking....then giggling...then whispering and giggling....then shared a seat!!!  I told the other mother that they are probably making fun of me but I didn't give a hoot because she is FINALLY laughing...with a PERSON....Not on the phone.  In fact, she actually only talked on her phone like twice today!!!

SO we get back to the house, I make her a plate of dinner and used my "Mom Voice" told her to sit and eat with a big pointy finger to the dinner table and a deep "DA!"(yes).  Annnd, she sat and ate....then grabbed a bag of chips that she and M shared....on the couch...in the living room!!!!  She only went to her room to go to bed tonight.  Hallelujah!!!!  I am just praising The Lord.   I can't even tell you how amazing God is to see this change in E.  ANNNNND, she said "Thank you".... IN ENGLISH.....Voluntarily....twice!!!!  Wow, just wow!!!

I know this all may crash tomorrow. I'm not going to worry about that now.  I'm going to wallow in
blessings as God provides them!!!

So, now down to business.  We need your prayers.  These are the details of  "what's next."  In order to go home, E needs a Visa issued by the US Embassy....in order to get the Visa, E needs the results of her medical exam to give to the US Embassy....in order to get the results of her medical exam, E needs her passport.  Here comes the specific details....tomorrow we will confirmation that E's passport is finished and on a train making its way to us.  We have to have the passport before 11 am on Tuesday because the medical office closes at 11 and then the Embassy closes at 3.  We need her visa issued on Tuesday so we can fly home Wednesday morning.

THE PROBLEM.....if we don't have her passport by Tuesday....we can not get it until after January 7th.  All governmental offices close down from January 1st through January 7th.  So E and I will be stuck here until then.  Its really been hard on E.  She is basically in limbo here.  She's not in her region or orphanage anymore....but yet she isn't home either.

PLEASE pray we hear positive news tomorrow and the next post you read is one telling you how God has worked a miracle and accomplished what everyone said couldn't be done.....and brought us home.

Thanks and love to all!!!







 

We Made it To Kiev.....almost home.

I don't even know where to start. 

The 10-Day waiting period was ROUGH!!!  There were many factors involved but ultimately....it was down right miserable. No need to sugar coat it for you. At one point I felt like just going home....it was THAT rough. But many people prayed for me and with me and kept me going through my tears. #1 piece of advice....don't take it personal. (I actually giggled as I wrote that because I'm all about getting my feelings hurt). When it comes to my kids, I'm a sensitive person. I HATE being the disciplinarian because I can't standing thinking my kids are mad at me. But..... you put on your "Big Girl Panties" and you do what you gotta do. Well let me just tell ya, if I coulda burned those stinkin "Big Girl Panties" last week....I'd be singing Kumbaya by a bonfire right now. 

So our 10-day period was up on Tuesday, 12/24. She wanted Tuesday to be her last day of school and her last night at the orphanage. I was ok with that. I spent Tuesday running around with the facilitator anyway getting paperwork. We got the court decree, traveled to her birth city (an hour away) and got a new birth certificate, came back to her city and did a few other things. That night I took her 2 cakes, soda and mandarins for her and the other kids. I also made each kid a photo album with a bunch of pictures I had taken on my pervious trip.   

We arrived at her orphanage on Wednesday, Christmas morning, at 6:30 am. She had her suitcase ready. It was a hard good-bye for her and her friends. She had lived with some of these kids for 7 years. She got in the car and cried as we drove off. It was gut wrenching. I held her. Then, she fell asleep. 

We drove the 2 hours to the capital city of her region. There we filed for her new ID number and petitioned for a new passport. Then we drove to the airport to buy airplane tickets to Kiev. Money well spent!  We landed in Kiev around 6pm and I couldn't be happier to be back at the missionaries' house.  Hallelujah!!!!  (Hahaha, get it??)

We Skyped with Papa right away and we did our family Christmas. Our girls at home opened up their gifts while E opened up the gifts I brought for her.  E seeing her Papa and sisters and Nonna and PeaPaw, was the happiest I have seen her in 2 weeks!!!!  

Thursday we woke up bright and early to go to the US Embassy to do paperwork for her to be declared our relative and eventually get her Visa. It was easy.  BTW, she was fascinated by the electronic fingerprint machine. 

Then we headed off to get her medical exam. And like that....we were done. Like  done, as in the only thing keeping me from getting the paperwork done to fly home, is receiving her passport. But here's comes the hang-up. We are praying that we receive her passport Tuesday morning so we can pick-up the result of her medical exam, take the results to the US Embassy, so they will issue her Visa and we can GO HOME!!!  If this does not happen, then we are stuck here until after January 8th. All government offices in Ukraine, including our fine US Embassy, are shut down from January 1 through 7!  Yep, just sit her and twiddle my thumbs for a week.  E is doing better (comparatively speaking)  here in Kiev but she NEEDS her Papa!!!  You can see it on her face when she says good-bye to him on Skype. We need to get home!!!  

Please join us in prayer that we have that ever so beautiful Ukrainian passport in our hands bright and early Tuesday morning. 

Prayer Warriors Needed!!!!

Please pray for E and my wife!! The devil is pushing harder and harder as the time in E's hometown draws to an end. They both need physical, mental, and spiritual strength to finish this portion.  Communication is low and tears are flowing. 

Join me in praying morning and night that God fills their hearts with Joy, Peace, Comfort, Understanding for each other, Strength, Love, Faith to trust each other, and that His plans are fulfilled to His Glory!!!! 

 My wife is the strongest person I have ever met, honestly, she is the most solid minded and dedicated person to those she loves. We just need to be prayer warriors and give her and E a little extra support........it can not be done on their own fleshly guidance. The devil and our flesh have us creating barriers that are not even up yet. Lord give us your unwavering LOVE, UNDERSTANDING, and PATIENCE until these girls arrive in Ohio!!!!! You have all been amazing in our journey........thank you warriors for uniting in Prayer!!!!  

Love to all-J

Not So Happy Saint Nicholas Day - the follow-up

It pains me to write this.....the language barrier rears its ugly head.  Guess which mama was NOT in the front row today.....yep..THIS ONE!!!!  I thought, and was told, the program was at 7pm.  NOPE, it was noon!!!!  That's right. I missed it. There was no proud mama sitting in the audience.

So your homework for today.... go back and re-read "It's Tough" post....then mulitply that by 10,000.  Welcome to my world.

Happy Saint Nicholas Day

Today December 19th, Saint Nicholas Day here in Ukraine.  Its traditions go back to the 10th and 11th centuries.  It is comparable to Santa Claus visiting the children in the US.  In honor of this holiday, the orphanage is putting on a program tonight.  Our daughter is among the lead in this program.  She is in several of the dances and duets.

So as any proud parent, I have spent the day making sure I have my camera and it is charged.  I have the video camera ready and it is charged.  I have a gift for all the kids at the end of the program.  Check, check, and check.  Then I stop and think.....

I do not have to sneak in earlier today to seal off the coveted front row seats.  I don't even have to show up 1/2 hour early to get the best seat in the house.  There are NO OTHER parents to compete with.  I will be the ONLY parent in the audience.....if there even is an audience since all the kids are dancing in the final number.  What will my daughter's feelings be as she sees her mother....in the audience....watching her last performance in the orphanage.....videotaping it and smiling?????

Tomorrow night she is coming to spend the weekend with me.  She has messaged me 5 different ways asking if O can come too.  I have said yes...each time.  This will be her last weekend with O and in her region.  Lord willing, she and I will be flying to Kiev on Christmas Day.  These next few days are going to be very emotional as she says good-bye to her school, friends, home and her family that she has known for the last 7 years.  Please pray that in her sadness, there is a joy and that she can supernaturally feel God's arms wrapped around her, providing her comfort, peace and the reassurance that this is the path He has designed for her.

It's Tough

My husband originally started this blog for me just as a way for me to journal.  It was intended to keep a record of my thoughts and feelings, and ultimately to be transparent.  Well that is what this entry is....its basically my journal.  (Please pardon the run-on sentences, etc.)

I feel as though I have been under attack from the devil from the moment I arose from my bed at home on the morning we were leaving for Ukraine.  Without my feet even hitting the floor, to see my flight was cancelled.....its has been non-stop warfare ever since.  The devil is using every situation and every person against me right now.....try to get me to say "I quit" and run home.  It's working!!!  I feel WORN OUT!!!  I WANT TO GO HOME!!!!!  I'm tired, because I can't sleep.  I dwell on the warfare in my head at night.  Everything from cancelled flights, FREEZING cold- its a colder kind of cold here (and you have to wear lots of layers because you walk every where in the freezing cold), arguing with L's biological father (an ocean can't even pause that), isolation, little money (our facilitator forgot to send it down for us), E's school work schedule not allowing us any time together after school......

But that is all how I FEEL....here is what I KNOW.....

"Do not be afraid, do NOT be discouraged, for The Lord your God will be with you WHEREVER you go."  Joshua 1:9

Colossians 3:17
"And WHATEVER you do, in word or deed, do EVERYTHING in the name of The Lord Jesus, giving THANKS to God the father through him."

Me dwelling on the warfare is not glorifying God, it is allowing the devil to win.  The devil does NOT want E to have a family.  He wants her to stay an orphan.  I will NOT be afraid, I will NOT be discouraged.  God knew all this would happen and He is using it for his greater good.  That He would be magnified.

Thank you Lord for:
getting us to Ukraine
getting our facilitator here safely and timely
our paperwork came through so we could have court on 12/13
that we had a little forethought to bring a little money with us
the snow and the slush have melted
E and O had so much fun shopping for groceries
watching E dance and sing
being able to be a proud momma filming her child's performance
prayer for the unknown to all the remaining children that do not know where they will be living next week
chocolate
instant mashed potato packets
FaceTime and Skype
that J is home with the girls
comforts in prayer
God's promises are true....even through my doubts
He is faithful, even when I am not
Thankful for an apartment with internet!!!! lol

I will carry on.  I will continue to walk this path because God has placed me here.  He is my strength when I am worn and weary.  Following Him is most important.  I will be like E and bury myself in the armpit of my Heavenly Father seeking protection, comfort and peace!  If she can put her faith and trust in the words and pictures of 2 strangers promising a better life for her....why has it been so difficult for me to do the same lately to the Heavenly Father that I KNOW and have SEEN his mighty hand?