News from Kremenchuk

We are very excited to bring you news about our daughter, Ziva! Yesterday was a very exciting day for us. We left Kiev at 5:00 in the morning and arrived in Kremenchuk at 10:00 a.m. We went first to the social worker for some paperwork and then went straight to the orphange. After receiving some information and history on Ziva, they brought her into the director's office for us to meet her.

Ziva is 31 months old and very petite; she is currently 24 lbs and 34 inches tall. She has light brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. We were quite surprsied with how fine (and short!) her hair is, but we were then told that at one years old, they shave off all their hair (Scott-style) so that "better" hair can grow in. Although she is petite, she has big chubby cheeks and a nice round tummy!

Right after meeting her, it was lunch time and we were fortunate enough to be able to go and help with lunch. She is in a group with 11 other children and there were 4 adults assisting the children. After a big bowl of soup, she then ate a big plate of mashed potatoes, 2 hamburger patties, and some sort of veggie (maybe squash). We were impressed that she could pack it away! We left as they were getting ready for their afternoon nap.

We are allowed to visit Ziva every day from 10-12 and 4-6. They have a special playroom for adopting parents to use when they come and visit their child, but often parents take children outside during the morning visit. I am so glad that, at the last minute before leaving Canada, I decided to buy a few clothes- everything fits her perfectly, except for the boots which are a bit big.

So we took her outside this morning for a while and we could tell that she wasn't too familiar with snow! Then it was back inside to the playroom which has all sorts of toys to play with.

We have been quite surprised with how quickly Ziva has warmed up to us and allowed to hold and hug her. She seems happy and smiles and laughs a lot; when she laughs, she scrunches up her nose and it is so cute!

We have settled into an apartment that is a 10 minute walk from the orphanage. The apartment reminds us a bit of camping- we just have to make do and rough it- but it will do. We are really hoping that we will get internet in the apartment (we put a request in) because the internet cafe is quite a distance from our apartment; with only 4 hours of daylight a day inbetween visits to Ziva, we don't really want to spend the whole time walking back and forth to the internet cafe.

Ukrainians love their holidays and so things will be closed here from today until January 8. Stores will still be open, but all government offices are closed. That means that for the next 10 days, we are at a standstill in the adoption process. This frustrates us somewhat after the 3 weeks we already spent in Kiev doing nothing, but it can't be helped. At least now we can visit Ziva every day. We have also been told that the adoption process happens quite quickly here.

Please continue to pray for our newly formed family. Pray for the new relationship that is being formed between Ziva, Scott and I. We will try and post photos of Ziva soon; from what I can tell, the computers in this cafe are not set up for it, so it may have to wait until we have internet in the apartment.

Kremenchuk Bound

Today we had our appointment at the SDA and were presented with a 2 1/2 year old girl named Katarina. We will be traveling very early tomorrow morning to Kremenchuk, which is south east of Kiev, about 4 hours by car. Hopefully we will be able to meet Katarina tomorrow. Please pray that things will go smoothly and quickly as we continue with our adoption process.

Merry Christmas from Kiev

Merry Christmas from Kiev! Christmas isn't celebrated here until January 7th, so everything was business as usual today around here. We have no new news; we are still waiting for an appintment with the SDA (perhaps Monday). Please pray specifically that a healthy toddler will become available for us next week.

Getting settled again in Kiev

Today we spent the day getting familiar with our new surroundings in Kiev. We moved to a different apartment from the one we were in last night (just 2 floors up in the same building). We couldn't see ourselves trying to cook for a week with just one small saucepan on a burner (no oven)! This apartment is much nicer and the best part- we have internet! No more internet cafe, at least for now. It is nice to be able to keep in touch with family and friends throughout the day.

We were excited to meet up with another couple from our agency this afternoon as well. It was so nice to be able to converse with some other people in English! It was also so great just to be able to share (and commiserate) about our adoption process so far.

We are staying in an apartment that is right in Independence Square, which I guess is some important and famous square in Kiev. Tonight there was some big celebration going on and the square was full of people. Some guy was giving a speech and the people were enthralled (we wondered if he was the president). I think we were the only ones walking against the flow and not stopping to listen! After his speech, they put on an excellent fireworks show.

We continue to try and keep our spirits up and pray for God's peace in our hearts as we await next week's appointment.

Disappointing news

Hello, everyone. Today we come to you with disappointing news. We are not able to adopt the little boy we mentioned in the last blog entry. We traveled (12 hours by train) to the town where he lives. We had an appointment with the social worker and we were told that this boy is not able to be adopted because his 15 year old sister is not allowing it. We have been told that there is nothing that can be done.

We then got on another train (for another awful 12 hour train ride) and are now back in Kiev, in a different apartment. We will have a third appointment at the State Department of Adoption sometime near the end of next week.

Words can not express how devastated and heart broken we are by this news. This little boy was within our grasp and he has been ripped away from us. We are finding it difficult to remain hopeful and positive. By the time we have our third appointment, we will have been here almost three weeks without any progress. Please continue to pray for us as we wait and pray that God has a child for us.

Good News

Yesterday we received good news! We have had an answer to prayer- the Lord is faithful and good! The orphange social worker has given us permission to go and meet the boy we were presented with on Monday. Tymurom is a 30 month old healthy boy with brown eyes and brown hair. We saw only a passport sized photo that is a year old, so we don't have too much to go on-although we both agree he looks very cute!

So today we are leaving Kiev to travel to the orphanage. We will be going on an overnight train (a sleeper cabin) to a region northwest of Kiev, about 11 hours train ride away from here. We will be going north of Lviv, which is a large city that is close to the Polish border.

We are very excited to be leaving Kiev (we have bad cabin fever!) and to be moving forward in our adoption process. We are hoping to be able to meet the boy on Thursday. We are also hoping that the sun is shining where we are going...we have not seen the sun since we arrived in Kiev!

We are so grateful for family and friends at home who are keeping us in their prayers. Thank you, too, for your words of encouragement to us- they brighten our day! Please continue to pray for us as we meet this child in the next few days. We will try and email news as soon as we can, but this will depend on how easily we can get internet access in our new place.

Two more days gone...

We are back at the internet cafe, checking in with home. We have been trying to keep ourselves busy and our minds occupied to help pass the time. Even though the days are short (sun up, 8:00 a.m. and sun down, 4:00 p.m.), they seem long to us.

Yesterday we ventured out with the hopes of finding a market where we supposedly could find souvenirs and such things, but no success. (Although we did find a MacDonald's where we enjoyed a coffee and got a salad for Doreen!) We are not completely sure of our location in Kiev and the language is proving to be a real barrier. Today we will head back to the market (a daily outing) and try again to buy some groceries. Twice we have bought something we thought was milk but it was not; third time is a charm, we hope! (I am really enjoying my powdered milk from home.) Scott is keeping busy doing all the domestic chores- the cooking, the cleaning, the dishes. I am enjoying that very much. He also rigged up a way to make almost "normal"coffee- we were sick of instant coffee pretty quick!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we await Monday's appointment.

Passing the time in Kiev

Hi, everyone. Thanks for your encouragement and prayers- we sure need them!

We are passing the time in Kiev by going out every day for a walk to the local supermarket and around town. We have also found a mall and a department store. What a challenge to buy groceries! We stand and stare at the shelves, trying to figure out what things are. I don't think we will be doing to much real cooking here, that's for sure. Today we went out for a coffee and dessert at a nice coffee shop for my birthday.

Other than that, we are reading lots, watching movies, and playing games...and praying for Monday to come quickly.

News From Kiev

Today we had a disappointing appointment at the SDA (State Departament of Adoption); we were only presented with unhealthy children and one boy who was over 4 years old. So now we have to wait until next Monday, which is when we have another appointment. We are praying that next week we will be presented with a child that is healthy and within the age specifications required by Ukranian law.

Until then we are stuck in Kiev. The weather has been dreary, and today it is sleeting and snowing- not great for exploring the city. Our apartment is cozy, clean and very warm (which Doreen loves!)...albeit a bit tacky. Now we are off to the market to buy more groceries, now that we are staying the week.

Ukraine Bound

Tomorrow we are Ukraine bound! Words cannot express our excitement (and nervousness!) as we begin this journey. We will write again once we are settled in Kiev and have some news.