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!!