A read between the lines!! and a few pictures.

The Sanner’s had a great day today!  We would love to update you on every detail that is currently taking place, but things are happening so quickly we’ve been asked to guard some of those details until a later date.  Needless to say we are feeling comfortable and pleased with the direction and speed in which things are going…

Will also share that we have felt your prayers, today in particular they seemed to engulf us, a peace that surpassed… thank you, thank Him!  The sun even came out this afternoon! 

We continue to spend gobs of time with Lena and friends.  Feeling incredibly blessed!

The only thing today that could have possibly been seen as a negative is that Uncle Peti came by again and asked us to come to his house for New Years Eve dinner…  would LOVE to spend more time with them, but we’re still trying to figure out an out on the dinner invitation without offending… any ideas, let us know.  :] 

Charlie, LENA NICKALA and I send our love…

Promise more to come as we can…

In the meantime here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure!!

a feast with Uncle Peti, Aunt Vala, and Babuska

 

me and Aunt Vala!



love this picture of Uncle Peti and Charlie, family!! :]



Lena heads off on Sultan, along with Uncle Peti...



Sultan returns home without Lena!  and we thought our horse Rowdy was rowdy!

Lena was ok, she returned smiling... :]

Living life in Ukraine...

What to say about the last few days…

On Christmas day (our Christmas not Ukraine’s) we were invited to Uncle Peti and Aunt Vala’s.  Lena was so excited for us to meet them and of course Sultan too.  In the back of my mind I thought there was a good possibility that food might be involved, but I wasn’t going to assume anything.  Some of you know I suffer from IBS, I’ll spare you the details, but I must be extremely careful about what I eat or my whole world can become absolutely miserable in a matter of minutes.  For those that care, I’ve been managing ok, thankful that I stocked up on Imodium AD... 

So we met Lena at the internat around 9:30am (we've been given permission by the director to spend ours days with Lena outside of school due to the holiday break, although she must be back by 7pm) where the taxi would pick us up.  Uncle Peti stopped by for a moment to make sure we got on our way, once we got in the taxi (they all seem to be 1980 era Fiat’s) Uncle Peti took off on his bicycle (walking and bicycles are the standard mode of transportation) to the market, he would meet us at home.

Our experience to date, winter in "region" means cold, wet, and MUD!  Lena even complains about the mud.  Most streets and sidewalks are dirt, which translates to "mush" as Lena puts it.  Also must share that since arriving in Ukraine we’ve only seen the sun once, it appeared for a few hours one day when we were in Kiev, otherwise it’s been damp and foggy, from daylight to dark it all looks the same.  We miss our AZ sun!

So on arrival to Uncle Peti’s we found a very small, very old adobe type home.  When we entered the yard, we were greeted by several dogs, to the left was a large garden area, which I’m sure is beautiful in season.  As we looked beyond the house, chickens and turkeys wandered.  Lena toured us around the outside first, we passed a small building to the right and found Aunt Vala doing some cooking of some kind (I began to worry), she greeted us with enthusiasm, but from a distance due to the food prep on her hands.  We felt welcomed, Lena beamed.  We then entered the house, this time greeted by a couple cute kittens.  Boots were taken off, but as Lena pointed out it doesn’t help much, the “mush” continues into the small home. I took a quick moment to be thankful we have Arizona dust and not Arizona mud.  We sat for a while on a small bed just inside the home, we then met Aunt Vala’s mother who lives with them.  Throughout the day Lena did a great job of translating, she had brought her Ukrainian to English/ English to Ukrainian Dictionary, it was a great help!   Uncle Peti and Aunt Vala kept busy with food preparations, there was going to be a lot of it!  Yep, you got it, a bit more worry on my part… I was able to tell Lena by using that wonderful dictionary that I had many many “food allergies”, so if I didn’t eat something it was due to that, she understood.   Dinner was ready, so into the next room we went, what a spread, had no idea what any of it was, but it looked dangerous!  First dish, some kind of cold jellied chicken??  What to do??  Felt bad but after one bite I played the allergy card, had to, but Charlie, my goodness he was such a trooper.  He took on the meal for me, we had extremely persistent hosts!  I finally succumbed to the pressure to partake in their homemade cognac because the only thing I was allowing myself to eat was the bread, I really didn’t want to offend such a incredible effort on their part, they don’t have much, yet they were giving it so freely.  It was later in the day and into the next that I discovered what a huge mistake that would be, it packed a huge punch!!!! 

Over the course of 6 hours we experienced some wonderful Ukrainian company.  Lena did a great job of translating, but there was also a lot of guess work on both sides, it worked.  Lots of da, da, da, which means yes, yes, yes, as well as laughter.   They shared many pictures of their family and we did the same.  It was obvious they think the world of Lena and she of them.  It is a hard life most people live in the rural regions of Ukraine, during our time together Aunt Vala asked our ages, Uncle Peti is 62, she is 52, only one year older than me, yet I would have guessed much older…  Probably should add something about our bathroom experience, but for now I'll just say they sure do things a number of different ways over here! 

About 4 (dark already) we headed back to the hotel, when we arrived Lena called her friend Alyona, and cousin Llona to ask it they might want to come spend the rest of the evening with us, about 10 minutes later a knock on the door and more fun ensued!  Giggling, pictures, movie (Flicka of course), a Christmas phone call from Jennifer (Lena’s soon to be oldest sister) and snacks, these girls are wonderful.  They absolutely love to be loved on.

Quick taxi ride back to the internat to return the girls at 7pm.   

Yesterday morning Charlie and I woke up feeling a little rough around the edges.  Absolutely no doubt it was due to homemade cognac and some strange cuisine…  but we rallied.  Charlie took a quick stroll to pick up Lena, he returned not only with Lena but Alyona and Llona once again.  Besides a trip to the market the girls hung out with us all day.  More giggling, nail painting session, puzzle, lunch, internet!, and hot showers for all three!!  It was a delightful day, Charlie did great!  He really seemed to enjoy all the estrogen in the room… :]

Today was very much the same, although we spent some time at the internat this morning with Lena and friends, then off to the market again to re-supply, these girls can eat!  Just to give you an idea, Alyona ate a whole bunch of bananas by herself within about an hour!!  We thought we’d supplied ourselves with a couple days worth.  Back to the market tomorrow… :]  Actually we plan on heading to the open market sometime tomorrow morning, looking forward to that.

I apologize for the length of this post, I’m finding that so much is happening; we are experiencing an overwhelming amount culture and emotion.  For those who know me well, you know it takes me time to process… think this will take years!  I will tell you that I don’t believe that Ukraine would ever be my choice for a vacation destination.  I will also share that International Adoption is a stressful ride for so many reasons, some of which are culture, language, time, but the thing that plays biggest on our mind at the moment is the emotion… from what little we have seen, we believe the internat director and staff are doing the best they can with the resources they have, but it is NOT an environment that you would want any child growing up in.  In a very short time we have become attached to quite a few, it’s going to be hard to leave them behind… for the time we do have here, it is our plan to love on as many, and as much as we possibly can.  As much as we miss home, we are thanking God for this incredible journey He has us on.  Can’t even imagine what the future might hold, but He has adjusted our focus in ways that we’d couldn’t have dared imagine even a year ago…  we pray for His glory!

Paperwork continues, our facilitator and team are doing a great job!  If all goes as planned our hope would be to head for home around the 20^th or 21^st of January.

Stay tuned… also would love to share photos of Lena, but due to our adoption agency contract will have to wait until paperwork is completed and Lena is officially our daughter.  Then the flood gates will open!  :]

me and Alyona  :]

me and Llona (Lena's cousin)

a reindeer???

Finally Lena!

We’ve had some very long days, extremely productive, but very long, especially for us old folk…  so where to start??

Our SDA appointment was Wednesday morning, we were in and out in a half hours time.  It was not soon after that we heard from Konstantin that there could be a possibility that we could receive our referral (permission to visit with Lena) the same day, not typical, usually it is received the following day.

At 3:15 we got the call, we were to meet him at the SDA at 4 to pick up our referral, and have our bags packed, we’d be headed into Lena’s region immediately after picking up our referral.  WOW!  That was fast!!!! 

With possible delays due to the holidays, Konstantin and his team are working extremely hard to push things through as quickly as possible.  We are appreciating them sooo much! 

So off to region we head… we arrived at our Hotel just a few blocks from Lena at about 9:30pm.  I was grateful it was dark, and I was unable to see the world outside (so I didn’t have to keep my eyes shut), at times I wondered if our driver could… a total “Ice Road Truckers” episode!

Needless to say Charlie was impressed with our driver’s skills; it’s a guy thing…

Yesterday morning after running, and I mean running (if I haven’t already said it, these people move fast!!!  It has exhausted me as we try to keep up with the pace in which our adoption team moves.  Actually there seem to be two speeds in Ukraine, fast and stop.  Not complaining at all, just one of the many things to observe and appreciate about another culture…) a few errands with our translator, Alla, we head to the orphanage to meet Lena.  We were taken to the social workers office, it was about 5 minutes later that the door opened and Lena walked in.  The look on her face and the speed in which she moved as she dashed towards us will be something Charlie and I will never forget.  She buried herself in us, and we in her.  We weren’t speaking the same language but I know we were saying the same things.  Lena had known we were coming, but did not expect to see us until late in the afternoon, it was wonderful to be able to surprise her.  After several minutes of hugging and kissing, trying to listen to what Alla was saying through the I love you's and so happy you are here’s, we were able to leave the office and begin spending our much anticipated time with Lena.  At that point, Alla had to leave us to continue doing what she does best, moving things along. 

The time spent with Lena was precious, we were able to communicate with her very well, she is doing great with her English.  Once again I am amazed how easy it was, how quickly those parental instincts kick in, it’s as if she’s been ours forever, I don’t think there was more then a few moments at a time throughout the day that she didn’t have a hold of us, I mean arm wrapped around either mine or Charlie’s waist.  She is playful, quick, silly, affectionate, beautiful, smart, resourceful, engaging, energetic, accommodating, and generous.  We felt as if she introduced us to the whole school… and all we met seemed so happy for us all.  We also spent a good portion of the day with two of Lena’s very good friends, Dasha and Karina, and how sweet they were too.  If Lena didn’t have a hold of one of us, they did.  The love and hugs come so easily.  We were also struck by the reality that just a quick smile and a hello to the children that we passed in the hallway, made for extremely bright faces, the expression on their faces changed so quickly from one of curiosity, and interest, to one of pure delight.  My heart melted, it was liquefied…

It is really so hard to share all that we are experiencing, we should have a little more time in the following days, so I hope I can do a bit more justice to all that we’re feeling and seeing.  Today the children are having a Christmas program that we will attend at noon, we’ll then meet with the director of the orphanage, and spend more time with Lena.  Tomorrow we have been invited by Lena’s good friend Uncle Peti (seems to be a grandpa figure to Lena) and his wife to visit their home, they own the horse Sultan that Lena has spent so much time with.  Uncle Peti stopped by the orphanage yesterday to meet us and extend a personal invitation.  It was a very sweet meeting, he really cares about our Lena, and we can understand why…

Strange, we keep forgetting it is Christmas Eve, and that tomorrow is Christmas, seems sad to say that, but at the same time we feel as if we’re witnessing God do an amazing thing in our lives.  He is most definitley present… I know we will look back soon and see that this has been one of the most blessed Christmases we’ve ever experienced.

Wishing you a MERRY CHRISTMAS from Ukraine!!! 

“But the angel said to them, “do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”    

 

me and Dasha... :]

Karina and Charlie

Karina, Dasha and Alyona trimming the Yolka (Christmas Tree).

   

We were almost busted, but we made it to Ukraine!

We made it to Kiev!!  But not without some challenges, or should I say opportunities... 

First stop Philly, all is fine.  Boarded our flight to Frankfurt.  As we boarded the plane both Charlie and I were very excited to see the amount of leg room between the seats, that is up until we got to coach.  Ouch!  Charlie's knees where in his chest for 7 whole hours.  Me, I was able to sleep for most of it, poor Charlie even after taking one of his chill pills remained bright eyed, well not really, when I finally woke he was in a semi zombie state... we arrived on time, headed to our connecting flight only to learn that the flight had been cancelled.  You may have heard on the news, lots of snow in Europe.  After 6 hours standing/sitting (me standing/sitting, Charlie found a cot and let his chill pill do it's thing) in the customer service line we were booked on a flight out the next day on another airline.  Fortunatley Lufthansia set us up in a very nice hotel in Frankfurt, best part, Cammie and Loren Marti were headed back to the states and wound up getting stuck in Frankfurt in the same hotel, a wonderful surprise ending to a very long day.  I'd spoken with Cammie and Loren a number of times by phone and Skype, but this was our first face to face, a wonderful unexpected gift...

Yesterday morning we got up bright and early and headed back to the airport to catch our 11:20 flight, which we found out when we checked in was now a 12:30 flight.  By the time we got to the gate it had changed to a 2:30 flight.  Once on the airplane it turned into a 3:30 flight.  We finally arrived in Kiev at 5:30pm only to find out our luggage had not come with us...  as we sat and attempted to explain and fill out paperwork in the lost and found office (people speak Ukrainian here! we don't! at the time a bit stressful, of course in hind site funny) we wondered if our driver was still waiting for us, oh did I mention that Sunday we realized that the cell phone we were carrying had no international service, a huge surprise to us, because we thought we had made arrangements for it, and wireless internet was pretty much useless, so the last we had been in contact with our facilitator, Konstantin was Sunday evening by email.  Well we finally made it out of the airport and our driver WAS waiting for us, Praise God!!  By that time I believe if he hadn't been there Ukrainian security would have had to haul the crazy American woman away, I may have never been heard from again...
We think Lena may have ESP, we had no sooner gotten in the car and handed our Ukrainian cell phone when Lena called it, she was delighted to hear we had finally made it!  We were too!!

After a much needed good nights sleep, and the great news that our luggage was found early this morning and retrieved (another story in itself) we found we had regained our positive outlook on life... Today we spent the day exploring some of Kiev, it's beautiful!  The weather is just fine, about 30 degrees, fine with a coat, actually with the amount of walking we did, it got pretty warm.  The apartment we are staying in is small but very nice.  And we have internet again!  So nice to be back in touch!

Our SDA appointment is tomorrow morning at 9:00am.  We'll let you know how it goes...  

Lena is on the phone with Charlie this very minute, think it's her 6th or 7th phone call to us today, yep she's excited, but then so are we, when Charlie just answered she said, "Is this Charles William Sanner?" and laughed, she's quite a character... :]  

Thanks for your continued prayers!!!  

Charlie sleeps off his chill pill while I wait...

heading out to board our flight to Kiev, finally!

Independance Square in Kiev

me in front of a few of the many statues throughtout the city.

a look up the street we stayed on, our apartment was over the red sign.

T -1!!!!

T –1!!  Tomorrow is launch day for operation BLH (bring Lena home)!

To say we’re over the top anxious to get this final stretch completed is an understatement!  Our flight out of Phoenix will leave at 8:00am tomorrow morning, we will arrive in Kiev at 1:10pm (3:10am AZ time) Sunday afternoon.

Our SDA appointment is Wednesday at 9:00am, we should then be heading down to Lena on the 23^rd or 24^th depending how quickly we receive our referral.  Lena has us scheduled for the 23^rd.  :]   We’ll then wait for our court date, while spending our days getting to know our daughter.  Our prayer is 2 weeks from our appointment we will receive word from the court that Lena is ours.  Then a 10 day waiting period begins, at the end of ten days, we head back to Kiev with Lena to obtain her exit medical and visa, this should take another 4 to 5 days, then homeward bound all three we’ll be…

Holy cow!! This is really happening!!  Breathe Judy breathe!!  So excited, yet if I’m going to be honest a few nervous knots thrown in as well… think those knots will loosen up once we’re on our way.

This past week and a half has not been a restful time of reflection and prayer, more like rapid fire reactive prayer while in constant motion.  Hoping that we’ll have sometime to reflect, anticipate, and meditate deeply once our behinds are securely fastened in our seats.

We would ask that you continue to pray us through this process, up until the middle of last week the Ukrainian Parliament was scheduled once again to vote on an adoption moratorium, the vote was originally scheduled for yesterday, the 16th, but we found out last week it had been removed from the schedule, we have yet to hear when it might come up again.  We have no doubt that the prayers of the saints are being heard!  I was appreciating this Christmas song a day after we heard the news of the missing vote,

“Then peeled the bells more loud and deep, “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep, the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with Peace on Earth good will toward men.” 

GOD IS NOT DEAD, NOR DOTH HE SLEEP!  The message was loud and clear,

He is present, in control, and listening!

Gotta go, a few dozen last minute things to do…  stay tuned!  :]

p.s. our friends the Marti’s are now officially a family of 4!  They began their 10 day waiting period yesterday, and the Newsome’s are close behind!  Overwhelmed for them!!

Word from Ukraine...

Two days ago I received this message from Cammie, she and her husband Loren are in Ukraine at this very moment working to bring their two girls home.  I share this to give you a glimpse of the heart that waits for us, the many hearts that wait for someone... 

"I have really spent a great deal of time with Lena.  Today I knew she really needed to be hugged.  I held her in my arms for quite some time.  She soaked it up.  I think she has always had to be the big sister to all the other children and never felt like she was anyones "little girl".  She cried a little bit when I held her and I told her it was okay and that her mama and papa would be here very soon.  She said, "yes, yes, I know and smiled."  :)  Very special and sweet girl!  She also showed me the text message you sent her yesterday and said she keeps her dictionary under her pillow to look up every word. :)  What a beautiful thing it will be to see you all united!"

Words can't express our gratitude to Cammie and Loren, as they work to bring their two beautiful girls home, and love on ours, and the many others, as they do...

Mama and Papa are coming Lena!!

T -11!!!!!!!!

T -15 and counting...

Charlie's counting, I'm counting, and Lena's counting!  I received a text from her yesterday (she's been texting us in English over the last couple weeks, very fun!), she said, "Leave in 16 days and you come in Ukraine." 
I believe we all have a serious case of ants in our pants!

As we continue to wait let me share what we think is some pretty fun stuff...

Not too long ago we found out Lena has a middle name, actually our understanding is that all Ukrainian children have middle names, it's just that sometimes when the children come to America they are given an American name.  At times the child's first name is also changed to a American form of their Ukrainian name, the purpose is to make it easier on the child as well as those who will be trying to pronounce it.  The middle name given to the girls is their fathers first name, with a ivna added to it.   Lena's fathers name was Mykolay, pronounced Mick-o-lie.  So Lena's middle name is Mykolayivna, very pretty don't ya think, we do.  Translated to American it would be Nicholas.  Well December 22nd is St. Mikolaya Day in Ukraine (not be to be confused with Christmas Day, which is celebrated January 7th), and we are told by Lena that on that day children receive a gift from St. Mikolaya, and children that share the name Mykolay/Mikolaya receive an extra gift... when we heard that, Charlie wanted to know if he could declare a Charlie Day, Lena and I are thinking not. :]  But it did get us thinking about Lena's name.  We don't think it will be difficult to convince her to keep some form of Mykolay, maybe Nicola, or Nicole, or even Mikolai, if it means an additional gift, because we really really like it.  We plan on discussing it with Lena while we are there, as her birth certificate will be changed prior to leaving Ukraine.
Lena also shared that the American version of her first name is Helen.  Now Helen is a beautiful name, Charlie has a sister named Helen (although like the name Judy, it's an old name, people shouldn't do that to their kids these days), but Charlie and I both are very fond of the name Lena.  We received a call last week from a very nice couple out East, they left a message that they had spoken to Helen, and Helen encouraged them to call us, to be in touch.  They explained that they used Helen's phone number to reach the young girl they hosted this past summer and are hoping to adopt.  Helen???? Really??? Helen???  Charlie and I got a good laugh with that one!  Still makes us chuckle, actually we better be careful because we've been calling her Helen in jest since that day, really don't want it to stick, danger is that nicknames do tend to stick (get it Kyle :]) in this family, it's a Sanner family tradition.  That's it, I'm putting a end to it now! 

By now some of you might be asking how Lena has a phone.  It surprised us a bit, and we're still not completely sure, there are some things that still get lost in translation.  We do know that there are no cell providers in Ukraine, you pre purchase minutes.  We did discover that Lena has/does help many kids connect with their host families, as well as those working to adopt.  We’ve learned Lena is quite the organizer, and have a feeling that someday she’ll be an incredible advocate for adoption.  In September when her phone broke, Charlie and I replaced it for her, as we wanted to continue not only to be in touch, but we’re also very proud of our girl and the good she is doing.

So besides all that, we continue to prepare and pack, keeping Matthew 6:25-34 in mind.  God keeps me laughing, as I believe He has given me this specific verse, for this specific time, for this specific reason.  Understanding the deeper meaning, yet being able to apply it to the challenge of “packing light” (instructions from our facilitator and agency) for a month or more trip to Ukraine in the winter.  Also let me clarify that this issue has also been all mine, I’ve had to convince Charlie that one shirt and one pair of pants isn’t gonna cut it.  P.U.!  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you should eat (have a great number of food allergies which has been on my mind as well) or drink, or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”  INDEED IT IS!!  Thank you God for your sense of humor and your perfect instruction… so one way or another we will be packing light, but not quite as light as Charlie would like.

One more thing, because we live where we do, I’m on a slow boat when it comes to the most current music playing on the radio, absolutely no radio reception here at home, which does disturb me on some level because music is a must for my well being, anyway, my BBF Lori asked me this morning if I’d heard “Lead Me” by Sanctus Real.  Nope, I had not, but I did get on-line shortly after our conversation and took a listen, GREAT!  As Charlie and I prepare to bring this beautiful young girl into our family, and as I think about our children and grandchildren that we love sooo much, I pray that we would “lead them” as He leads us…  take a listen, I added it to our blog playlist. 

We invite you to count down with us, T -15!!!!

Also, please add our friends the Marti's who are now in Ukraine, and the Newsome's who will be leaving tomorrow to your prayer list as they work to bring their children home.  Thx!

IT'S A DATE!!!!!!!!!

It's finally here, it's finally official!!
Kiev, Ukraine her we come!!!
Depart Phoenix Saturday, December 18,
Arrive Kiev Sunday, December 19,
Meet with the SDA Wednesday morning December 22,
Receive our referral papers Thursday, December 23,
then travel to the orphanage to see our girl on Friday the 24th for what should be a GREAT Christmas Eve.
Please keep prayin cause...as a famous baseball player once said, "it ain't over till it's over".

God is good ALL the time!!!

Words spoken by me:

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize in advance, because over the next several weeks I have decided to be annoyingly happy!!!!  YEE HAW!!!!!!!!!  :]

So in the meantime... Happy Thanksgiving!

We continue to wait for our new appointment date.  We think that sometime this coming week would be the perfect time to find out just what that date is, but alas it is out of our control...

So in the meantime we find ourselves preparing, I mean lots of preparing!

Buy long underwear                  
Pack long underwear                 
Borrow clothes                                      
Buy clothes
My clothes                                                   
Charlies clothes                                             
Lena's clothes                                                
Haircuts                                                       
Jake to groomer                                            
Horses need new shoes             
Copy documents                       
Pack documents                       
Order prescriptions
Buy gifts (160 +)
Need 4 + weeks of food for dogs, horses, cats, chickens
Call Bank                                   
Transfer Funds
Note important phone numbers, websites (bill pay), email addresses
Photo album to show judge
Questions to ask orphanage director and teachers
Need to bring: extension cords, ac adaptor,Tylenol,TheraFlu, alcohol wipes,      antibacterial gel, don't forget toilet paper...  
Pack snacks, which must include peanut butter we're told
Airline tickets!
and then some, and some, and some. 
                  
And in between, life as usual...

But wait,
What we must not forget to do throughout these days is to be "Thankful", for there is no doubt that our list of things to be thankful for far outweighs our list of things to do.
We would imagine yours is too.

"In everything give thanks..." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

We'll let you know as soon as we get our date! 

Keeping our focus...

I apologize for our/my absence, a lot can happen over the course of two weeks in an international adoption, things that sometimes I'm finding, just need a bit of time to settle before you're prepared to share...  in any case I hope I'm able to keep it to a minimum, my hope is not to ramble (been accused of that by a couple males in the family, but I consider the source :]).  Also let me qualify this posting by saying, this is more my post than Charlie's.  He and Jesus are my rock.

Let me share something I know about myself.  I don't do drama well.  Not that I don't believe that some circumstances in life naturally create drama, and it even becomes necessary at times, it's just that typically it's something I try to avoid.  I have a pretty clear understanding that in most cases I really have little or no control, except when it comes to my own response.  So I tend to view it as being unproductive, a waste of time.  I also find I am not a person who needs to forecast to the future. And I much prefer to view a silver lining than to view a dark cloud.  Don't know if that's just the way I'm wired, possibly my environmental circumstances, past and present, or maybe in the last 51 years I may have actually learned something.  Go ahead you pick...
The first 10 months of our adoption process has gone relatively smooth, it's what we've been experiencing the last couple months that have put me at times in a "dramatic" frame of mind, which brings about a sense of concern, questioning, and a search for possible ways to control the circumstances, along with a ache in the pit of the stomach that doesn't want to subside.  NOT my thing at all!

October 27th we awoke to an email from Konstantin, GREAT NEWS!!  I have been successfully registered as an official candidate to adopt in Ukraine by the SDA!! I say I, because children in Ukraine can only be adopted by a married couple and the age difference between the child and at least one of the adoptive parents can be no more than 45 years, Charlie comes in at 46, he's too old (I enjoy reminding him or that from time to time), so I will be adopting Lena in Ukraine, Charlie will make it official when we return home.  But along with that news, we received an appointment date for November 3rd... NOT good news, although we thought that could be a possibility if you remember.  Words written directly after the November 3rd date in the email, "do not freak out!" (which made me laugh, poor Konstantin, I wonder how many people have freaked out over that information, apparently a lot).  Of course there was no way we could be ready to travel within a weeks time, what with work schedules, preparation and packing, not to mention Lena will not be available for adoption until sometime mid to end of December.
We are now in the process of requesting a new appointment date.  Our hope, and prayer, it will coincide with Lena coming off the registry.  Travel could happen as early as the 2nd week in December.  We have learned once in Ukraine we can request another appointment date if needed, but would likely add a few days to the process.  OK Judy?  Yep, OK. 

Feel the need to explain something else, in a traditional Ukrainian adoption the adoptive parents are unable to pre-select a child to adopt.  The selection of the child is usually done the day of your appointment, most are given profiles of children available for adoption based on their requested criteria, ie: girl age 9 - 14.  They are then given permission to visit the children that are deemed a good fit for them and select.  Also note, the children do have a voice in whether they are comfortable with a particular adopting couple.  They can refuse an adoption.  We find ourselves in a non-traditional Ukrainian adoption, having hosted, met or learned of a child through a hosting program, many families decide they want to adopt the child they have fallen in love with.  Timing then can play a factor, especially if the child is still waiting to come off the national registry, as is our situation with Lena.  These non-traditional adoptions are highly successful, but as they say, "timing is everything".  Still doing OK Judy?  Yep.

November 2nd late afternoon, we receive word through another adoptive family that the vote on the adoption moratorium had just passed.  That parliament will be voting again in another 10 days, that by the end of the year it seems likely all votes needed to stop Ukrainian adoptions will take place.  You've got to be kidding!!!????  Speculation runs rampant... make it stop!!!!  The following morning we hear this news:  Yesterday Ukrainian parliament (Rada) supported the movement from independent adoptions to either Hague system or bilateral agreements system of international adoptions.  However, instead of making it a law the parliamentarians supported the draft law "as a baseline", which means "in essence".  It is a show of political will, a political move and carries NO EXECUTIVE meaning at least in the near future.  The date for further hearings is not set up - all talk on the web about another vote in 10 days is nothing more than a rumor at this point.  When deputies really want to adopt a law - they move through 2 hearings in the same day: adopt a law as a baseline and announce final vote in 3 minutes.  This did not happen.  It is believed most deputies do believe that international adoptions must continue, however, yesterday's political will vote shows that Ukrainian authorities want to have more control over the information/future of adopted children after they leave Ukraine. Speaker of parliament said this vote will push the government to finally make specific moves to signing bilateral agreements with countries citizens of which adopt frequently in Ukraine.
Feeling much better, but oh how we and a good number of other families wish the chatter of this vote would vanish for good...  Still hanging in there Jude?  Barely...

November 5th, thankful for a scheduled phone appointment with my dear friend Mary.  Have once again arrived at a place of peace, drama over... 
Mary reminds me of what has always been one of my favorite bible lessons. 
Matthew 14:22-33  Why did Peter sink?  He saw Jesus walk on the water and as long as Peter focused his eyes on the LORD, Peter stayed afloat.  It was when Peter took his eyes off of the LORD and on to the waves beneath him that he sank.  The lesson, that our faith must be rooted in Christ and we must not allow ourselves to be distracted by life's circumstances.  If we keep our eyes on the LORD rather than the situation that threatens to engulf us, we too can walk through the waves with confidence in Christ's ability to bring us peace in the middle of what ever storm is raging over our lives.  There is nothing that we can face that is outside of God's control.

Simple really, yet...

Charlie and I spoke again with Lena on Saturday morning, WE LOVE OUR GIRL!

Yesterday Charlie and I celebrated our 18th Anniversary, I LOVE YOU CHARLIE!

Sooo looking forward to the next 18, and bringing Lena home!!

How ya doing Jude?  GREAT!!!!!!!!!!

Keep praying!!

This, that and another thing...

So now we wait... yep, that's what we're doing, waiting for our official travel date, plus this, that and another thing... 

We called and spoke with Lena on Saturday the 16th, and then again on Sunday the 17th.  We had an hour with Gaylna on Saturday to translate, but it wasn't quite enough time to accomplish all that Lena, Charlie, Lena's cousin Llona, one of Lena's teachers and I had to discuss.  Yep, on Saturday we got to spend time chatting with Llona and one of Lena's teachers (wish I could remember her name, but it escapes me).  Our conversations with both Llona and Lena's teacher were incredibly sweet.  They are both very happy for Lena, and are excited to meet us.  Sunday we called again, this time to get "the list".  Charlie and I have known that we would be bringing some gifts from America to give the kids when we arrive, we hear things like glow bracelets, chalk, and American candy are a huge hit.  We had also asked Lena a few phone calls back if there were any special gifts for her classmates we could bring.  Lena was prepared, she had her list!  Lena gave us the names of 13 girls in her class, along with a suggested gift for each.  On that list there were several requests for stuff animals, a couple of requests for journals, two hair dryers (believe that's what I would have requested after having to take a cold shower during a Ukrainian winter), a book about animals, and a embroidery kit.  Oh, and Lena also asked if we might bring a gift for her 3 teachers and Sultan the horse too. :] 
Seems our gift giving will come at a perfect time. Christmas!  Which brings me to our kids, Jennifer, Lisa and Kyle.  Which at this moment I'd like to say how much we love them, and how incredibly proud we are of the people they have grown into.  From the beginning of this journey they have been nothing but supportive and excited along with us.  Several Christmases ago we began a new Christmas tradition, recognizing the many blessing in our lives, we desired to share, instead of buying gifts for each other, we have made donations to charities in each others names, this year we approached the kids with "Lena's List", without hesitation the charity of choice this year, a group of Ukrainian children and a Ukrainian horse.  Need to say it again, we love you J, Lisa and Kyle!  We will enjoy sharing with Lena that her new sisters and brother, and families wanted to be a part of our first ever Ukrainian Christmas...

We are also excited to see and hear about how God continues to show Himself to others, how He lights a fire of passion, and His people respond. 
The Goodness Family have not only been a big part of Orphans Ransom (I shared their website link in my last post), but they have put together "Project Christmas JOY".  They have collected the names and ages of all 160 children at the Internat (Lena's school, and where they adopted their daughter Kristina from in July), and have approached the members of their church to gift each of these children with a Christmas box. This will be the first time that these children have experienced anything like this. 
Also Ukrainian Orphan Charities (through our facilitator) in partnership with U.S. non-profit Horizon Christian Fellowship (organized by other adoptive families) are prepared again to bring another group of Ukrainian orphans to the U.S. this Christmas. The children will travel December 19, 2010 – January 9, 2011. They will send a group of children anywhere in U.S. where there are several interested families.  You can log in to their website using the user name and password below to see which children are still waiting to be matched with a host family:
Website: http://www.hostorphansfromukraine.blogspot.com/
Login: ukraineorphans@aol.com
Password:  nostreetlife
Even though the blog will say "by invitation only" - just enter log in and password and the blog will let you in. 
Charlie and I are amazed at the opportunities out there to help, we wonder what God might have in store for us in the future... because we believe we've only seen the tip of an ice berg. 

Now on to another thing:  As I said in a previous post, our hope was to complete our adoption by the end of this year, in doing so we would have been able to take advantage of a $13,000 tax credit.  Unfortunately we don't believe that will be possible now.  We don't anticipate the adoption will be final until mid January. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, but still believing we should not put a limit on how and by whom God may want to provide the remaining funds needed for Lena's adoption, we share this with you.  The cost of Lena's adoption is right at $30,000, we are extremely grateful for support monies that have already been donated by our church, family, and friends, it has simply been amazing to watch as God has provided, which we have said from the beginning that He would have to do.  "It's a God sized endeavor" is still our chant.  So to date with the monies we have spent and the donations we have recieved we find ourselves still short by about $7600.00, which wouldn't look as big as it does if we didn't find ourselves needing to add to our solar system (we live off the grid), we think it is important to boost things to accomodate an additional body.  So with that being said, if you should feel led to donate to our adoption fund, and would like to receive a receipt for tax purposes, checks can be made out and sent to:

Prescott Christian Church

501 S. Senator Highway, Prescott AZ 86303,

noting “Adoption Fund” in the memo section. 

It's with sincere hearts Charlie and I thank you all for your encouragement and prayers, for following along with us... it won't be long now...

Oh, I didn't mention, Charlie and I found out this week that our dossier has already been submitted to the SDA, it was submitted prior to the last vote on Oct. 8th.  Konstantin felt it was important to go ahead and submit it prior to the vote, which we agree with and appreciate.  It may be just another week or two before we hear when our appointment date is, if we find out it is prior to Lena coming off the registry we'll have to request a new date, but better to be in process, then to take a chance that a vote on a adoption moratorium could take place.

Boy, that was a lot of this and that... Blessings!!

Skype no Hype!

Seems I continue to be a bit of a "bump on a blog", but not intentionally.  Charlie and I have been enjoying a visit with my sister Leslie and brother-in-law Rick the past few days.  Actually they arrived this past Friday evening and left yesterday morning to spend a day in Phoenix, before heading back to Montana.  So between visiting and work (both Charlie and I continued to work through their visit as we plan to take a large chunk of time off in the near future :]), I was unprepared to take the time needed to do an update.

But I'm back and we do have news to report! 
October 8th came and went quietly (except for the arrival of Leslie and Rick), "the vote" was once again postponed.  Praise God, seems to be a theme developing here... keep praying!
Saturday morning Charlie and I awoke early, ok, maybe not any earlier than normal, but we got moving faster than usual.  I had to get a shower and get my hair washed and dried prior to our much anticipated SKYPE call with Lena.  Was not about to let Lena see me with bad hair, at least not yet...
Time out: Feel as if I need to take a minute to set the scene... Over the last several months I have developed a friendship with a couple in Arkansas who are in the process of adopting two young girls from the same school that Lena is in.  As with others we have met along the "adoption way", Loren and Cammie have fast become part of our extended family.  An incredible extended family to be sure... Loren and Cammie made a quick trip over to Ukraine this past weekend, they had a few issues arise with their adoption and felt it important to be there in person to promote a positive outcome, which I'm extremely happy to report seems to be the case, Praise God again!!  An important part of their trip was to provide the girls an opportunity to visit with several families that have already adopted from the Ukraine via a Skype session.  They had made arrangements for several computers to be available at the local Internet cafe, as well as translators to be on hand, no small task!  Loren and Cammie extended an invitation to Charlie and I to join them, so that we might have the opportunity to see Lena in action.   I must admit I had a few nervous knots, but for the most part just over the top excitement for the chance to visit with Lena face to face. 
At 6:30 am our Skype phone rang, and with a click of the mouse, there she was!!  It's hard to understand, to comprehend how the heart works, but since we began to communicate with Lena, whether by email, by phone, and now Skype, there has never been a hesitation, nor reservation, it seems as natural as breathing, she is our daughter... and Charlie and I, along with Rick and Leslie delighted in her for close to an hour.  With lap top in hand we were able to give her a tour of her room and introduce her to the dogs.  It was then that she asked to see the horses.  Of course she would ask, and of course we would deliver, but how?  Charlie and Rick headed for the barn, as Leslie and I continued to talk, Lena introduced us to her cousin Llona, and her friend Alyona, it was incredibly sweet (It would be later in the day that my heart and mind would begin to reflect back on those introductions). 
When Charlie and Rick arrived back at the house they had Rowdy in tow.  Charlie led Rowdy onto the patio, and through the window, Lena was able to get a glimpse of the horse she has already claimed as her own.  It was a few minutes later that we all agreed Lena needed a better view, so out to the yard the lap top went, it worked!  Lena was able to see Rowdy in action!  Too fun!!  By the way Lena also really liked Charlie's cowboy hat.  No doubt a cowgirl hat is in Lena's future. :]
It was an amazing morning, thank you Loren and Cammie for making it happen!  For all those who played a part in it.  Also, so incredibly thankful that Uncle Rick and Aunt Leslie were here to meet Lena, to experience the morning with us.  Charlie and I are also excited to have crossed over another technological line with Skype, we believe it's going to be a wonderful way for Lena to be in touch with new and old family and friends.  Simple download, inexpensive camera, and the rest is free! 

As I mentioned, it was later in the day, after I had spent a good bit of time reflecting on the joyfulness of the morning, that the words of Lena's friend Alyona started to play in my head, Alyona had shared how happy she was for Lena, she was happy that Lena would soon have a family to love her, the joy and sincerity of her statement was authentic ... both Lena's cousin and her friend had seemed so curious and so happy to be a part of our conversation, it is then that the question presented itself, what about them??  What about the rest??  It is a hard question to think about.  One, that on some level I wish I could ignore, but it now exists in my heart...  I believe it needs to be answered.

"Once your eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do.

God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know,

and holds us responsible to act.

Proverbs 24:12

Which for now brings me to share this website:  http://www.orphansransom.org/

Charlie and I look forward to talking with Lena again this Saturday morning, and we anticipate hearing sometime the end of this month that our Dossier has been submitted to the SDA!