We got a court date!!!!!!!

And we are so thankful for when it is. With the bump in the road last week we were expecting it to be later BUT it is on Monday, Aug. 2nd at 10:00am!!! God is so good!! Sasha's been doing an amazing job speaking on our behalf to the people who have the "power". We will NOT get the 10 days waived though :( I've decided to fly back home with Darrell. Although I was so happy for an earlier than expected court date, reality hit fast...I was going to be alone very soon and I did not like that feeling. Plus knowing how homesick the younger kids are makes it even harder being here for what would be close to another 2 weeks after court. I hate to spend all the extra money for more airline tickets but it will be GREAT to be home.

Plans are to fly back on August 14th for up to a week to finish off the adoption process...new birth certificate, passport, medical exam, visa. We aren't sure who will be coming with me as I do NOT want to do it alone, either Darrell or Austin as he has a passport. It will be sad leaving Isaiah behind but it is only for a short time before he is carried out the orphanage gates.

We have so much to do before we leave but first working on changing our airline ticket date. My agent said the Delta flight is SO full and it will be really hard to make things work. Please pray we both get a seat and for a bonus...to be seated together. There is only ONE flight out of Kiev that flies straight to New York and it doesn't fly out everyday. We are hoping and praying to be on the flight that goes out on Wed. Aug. 4th.

Monday the 26th.

This morning some man came driving up in a white car and people started walking over to him. He had cream cans full of milk we are assuming. People had all different kinds of containers and he poured the milk into them with a funnel. When we was done with those people he walked around the area ringing his "milk bell".




These 2 ladies were sweeping the sidewalks around this apartment complex. It must be cleaning day because we were awakened to a lady beating her rug. Later someone else was beating their rug. I don't see a vacuum around there and our landlady has been gone for a few days but I sure hope I don't need to beat our rugs.




Isaiah was much more alert and happy today. Sasha showed us a different play area which was really neat to see. I'm assuming maybe the kids play in there when the weather is cold. Isaiah really like the toy rocking pony. When we would stop rocking him he moved his body and motioned that he wanted more. He also reaches his arms out when he wants to be picked up. We went to his groupa's play area outside and put him in the playpen type of thing and he made a vocal sound like he did not want that. Poor guy is always just put in "pens" like this and often times with no toys. He was rocking back and forth most likely just a comfort thing. So sad. He pulled himself to a stand and reached out his arms. He has Darrell wrapped around his little finger because he has to pick him up right away. And then Darrell will put him back in playpen to see if Isaiah REALLY did try to get his wants/needs across to us and once again he pulled to a stand and put out his arms.






When we were outside a nanny "asked" if we wanted a stroller. We said yes as we were looking for the one we had this morning that had "seatbelts". She brought us this red one where the kids sit up really high and have NO seatbelts. I was freaking out that Isaiah would topple over as he does have low muscle tone. When we were out of the nanny's sight we laid Isaiah down where he looked much safer. I have a "thing" for seatbelts if you haven't noticed...haha.



As soon as Mr. Personality saw us today he wanted to be held by me first and then wanted Darrell. The nannies don't allow him to be around us for too long. It is amazing how these kids are trained to behave and are redirected easily most times. We all started on a walk together and Mr. Personality wanted to walk with us but he wasn't allowed too and he REALLY started crying. A nanny took him back to the groupa door until he stopped crying which didn't take long.

We went to a dress store and I tried on a jean summer dress. I was VERY shocked when a worker came right into my dressing room after one little knock and started helping me put the dress on. I'm a very modest person but quickly got over it for the moment as I realized as long as I'm in this country it did not pay to tell her to leave. No one knows the meaning to modesty here...no one. Unbelievable. I sure hope this trend never makes it to the states. We noticed that down here in Nikolaev or at least this part of the city that many people are not stick thin but that does not stop them from wearing very skimpy clothing.

Please pray that our court day will be early next week. It is looking like the SD couple has court on Friday and we are only a couple days behind them in the process. Please also pray for continued safety for those we left behind at home and for us here in Ukraine. Joey made my day today....he Skyped with us TWO times and he was happy and giggly. We were playing peek-a-boo and singing Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Our Saturday & Sunday and some pictures.

On Saturday after we did some paperwork with Sasha with the notary public, who doesn't work on Saturday and was just ready to go to the beach but agreed to come in and do this for us, we went down to Soviet Square which is kind of a main city center area with restaurants and shopping. The only McDonald's in Nikolaev is there too. We had lunch there just to check it out. While we were waiting in line a boy around 10 years old came up to us holding a note. Of course we couldn't read it and shook our heads "no". He then moved on. We ate outside and this same boy came to us again so we gave him 20 grivna (8 grivna is about $1.00). He then took off and Darrell watched where he went but couldn't see. Sasha told us many times parents send their kids out to beg for money and then return the money to parents and they buy Vokda. There is alcohol EVERYWHERE. It is usually the biggest section in the grocery stores...bars on almost every corner. Smoking is also huge here...very cheap to smoke. Darrell tried a few different types of beer and he thinks it is stronger than American beer. I think liver and lung disease will be a problem in the furture here :( Sasha showed us where the only Catholic church was...St. Joseph's. She then took us back to our apartment and later that day we ventured out alone on the city bus system to find Soviet Square alone. It did not go as well as planned. For some reason the bus did not stop where we needed to get off. Then the bus turned into a parking lot with many other buses and everyone got off the bus except us and the lady to takes money. She said something to us and we just looked at each other. We gave her a note that said Soviet Square then she was telling the bus driver. He then walked us to another bus and told that driver where we needed to go. So we finally found the church and tried to find a schedule. The only thing that looked familiar were the numbers...time. There were a few people looking around the church so we asked if they knew English. The mother didn't but 2 daughters knew some. They said mass was at noon on Sunday but the schedule said 9:00am and 12:00pm. We then headed back home on the bus and that went much better. A few more times practicing things should get more familiar but I don't know if I have the guts to try it when Darrell leaves.

SUNDAY...We decided to get up early and go the the 9am mass. The bus ride went much better. When we got on I told the money lady that we wanted Soviet Square so she let us know when were got there. We got to the church and no one was there so we went to McDonald's for coffee...not many choices but it was alright. We then walked around and had breakfast in a restuarant with outdoor seating. Sasha told us about it as it has an English menu. We both had a different type of omelet. It was good. We then went to some shops but felt weird doing it on a Sunday before church. We hope God understands. We found a BIG kids store...toys and clothes. We bought a baptismal outfit for Isaiah and some unique shoes for Noah. I hope to go back there and get a few things for Isaiah from his birth country.

We went back to the church shortly before noon and people were there. It sounded like they were praying the Devine Mercy Chaplet. It was VERY warm in there and many people had little hand fans cooling their faces. Shortly before mass started a priest when inside a confessional just right in the open. Again we couldn't understand anything but people sitting nearby sure could. There were confessions all through mass. People would just get up and go in confessional. We had the Word Among Us with us so we followed along with readings when they were doing readings. When we thought mass was over it really wasn't...there seemed to be another sermon after mass that was about 5 minutes long. We then headed back home and took a nap. We overslept and were a little late to visit Isaiah. He was more tired and cranky today but we don't blame him as this heat is crazy. We are wondering if he doesn't get a nap because the afternoon visit he seems so tired and less smiley.

I whipped together a chicken and rice/veggie dish for supper. Not as easy cooking here. It reminds me of cooking in our camper with very few supplies but it tasted good. Luckily it made enough for 2 meals. The kitchen heats up fast. We don't have AC but we are on the bottom floor with a fan. It is 99% better than our apartment in Kiev. It is so quiet where we are. We are told the police station is right around the corner. It is about a 10 minute walk to the orphanage. I'm so thankful because this part will be so doable when Darrell leaves. For those of you who don't know I'm THE biggest chicken in northern America. I'm hoping and praying God takes this into account and moves the judge to make a decision in our favor but I have my doubts. Sasha told us again that after he waived the 10 days for the Enskat family that he will not do it again especially for a healthy child and thankfully Isaiah is one of those healthy kids.

Some pictures of last couple days...


St. Joseph's Catholic Church...outside.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church...inside.

Our omelets.

At restaurant where we ate breakfast holding the English version menu.

Self explanitory??

We call this little guy Mr. Personality. We would love to find him a home. He is always watching for us. He is always hugging Darrell's leg. He has a big scar on his belly and makes me wonder if he has something similar to our Joey. He does not have Ds. He is in Isaiah's groupa.




We don't think this little boy has had so much fun with a blow up ball. It was so much fun watching him be so joyful. He appears to have cerebral palsy. So many many kiddos who need families. It is heartbreaking to witness. Isaiah has no idea what a lucky little boy he will be to soon be carried out the orphanage gate and never to return. We pray all these kiddos will one day soon walk or be carried out the same gate with their forever families. The picture with the nanny in it is where she is "scolding" Darrell for apparently overprotecting Isaiah. He was making sure he wasn't going to fall back but the nanny came up to him and was saying "no, no let him go...he will be fine."...this is what we are thinking she said b/c she was shooing Darrell away.






The children's toy/clothing store. We always had between 1-3 girls/workers following us around...just standing there watching...not offering help. We think maybe b/c we were carrying bags. When we bought Noah's shoes in a different store we also had 2 ladies following us but they were constantly trying to help us. When I finally decided on a pair the gal took off running downstairs to get them. They must be so thrilled to make a sale. It was only less than a $10 US money sale but they acted like it was $100 sale. Darrell had fun in the farm equipment section.




A women's shoe store. Just a VERY small sampling of what is in style here.



Not sure if men in America wear capris but pretty sure they don't carry man purses and if they do we've never seen it. This is how the typical man looks here.


This one is for you Nick!

Pictures of Isaiah.

DAY ONE...

First time holding Isaiah...this was after lots of hugs and kisses and tears.

Ten minutes after we were there the nanny had me sit down and feed Isaiah a baked apple. We then went outside.



We have a thumb sucker! And a finger chewer. The habit will be hard to break.

DAY TWO...

Birth parents are signing off!

We just received a call from Sasha, our facilatator. She is meeting the family at the notary public to sign off and agree to allow their son to be adopted by an international family...OUR family! Praise God. After they sign off Sasha will pick us up and we begin some more paperwork.

We did not go to see Isaiah this morning as we had laundry to do. With this heat you can only re-wear clothes so many times. It was a cool morning in the shade so we had coffee outside while reading The Word Among Us. This week has been really speaking to us but today it reaffirmed so clearly what we are doing. I always had peace with it all but Darrell was lagging behind a bit. He took a huge step in faith out in the water and now he is really seeing and feeling how Jesus is and will hold him up.

For my own memories I'm typing what we read this morning.

"The Spirit of God is upon me; He has anointed me. He sent me to bring good news to the poor, and to heal the broken-hearted." (Luke 4:18) We believe God somehow allowed this "mistake" in the paperwork that is delaying our process for the birth family to have some kind of closure. God sent us to bring good news that having a child with Ds is nothing bad or impossible and that their birth child will be loved and have a good family. We believe this is what the family needed to heal broken hearts. I really deep down as a mother feel they were struggling with leaving their baby in the hospital. We saw the tears and they were real. We pray God is working on healing their broken hearts and grant them peace and comfort knowing where their child is going.

"Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with his neighbor; if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place, or follow strange gods to your own harm, will I remain with you in this place, in the land I gave your fathers long ago and forever." Jeremiah 7:5-7 /strong>

The meditation in the Word Among Us for this reading...

Picture a commanding figure standing in the Vatican and loudly proclaiming: "Don't put your trust in the deceitful words, 'I'm a Catholic, I'm a Catholic, I'm a Catholic!'" If you can imagine how unsettling that would be, you can begin to appreciate how the Jews reacted to Jeremiah's sermon before the Temple in Jerusalem.

Chosen by God as his earthly dwelling, the Temple symbolized his protection over the whole nation. And the people Jeremiah addressed were not the lukewarm or the non-practicing. He was speaking to worshipers who were happily going about their public religious duties. How outraged they were to hear him foretell doom as he mocked their trusting cry, "the temple of the Lord!"

But Jeremiah was speaking God's word, not his own. God truly was displeased to see his people loving liturgy without loving their neighbors. By neglecting and oppressing the poor and defenseless--the very ones God wanted them to care for--they had broken their covenant (Jeremiah 7:5-6; Exodus 22:1-4). They rejected justice, yet showed up to offer sacrifice, confident that God would bless them. But Jeremiah warned: You're making this holy place "a den of theives," and God sees your hypocrisy (Jeremiah 7:11).

God hasn't changed. He still hates self-centered religion that passes for worship. He still expects us to share his desire that everyone, especially the poorest and weakest, will have a decent life. Jesus made this clear from hsi opening mission statement about bringing glad tidings to the poor to his final parabel about he sheep and the goats: Extend mercy to those in need.

Take a few minutes today to consider the issues Jeremiah rasies. See if there's some way you can help improve the lives of the disadvantaged. Is there a program in your parish or community that you can support? If you are already involved, see if there is someone else you can invite or join you. We may not change the entire world, but we can bring the light of Jesus into lives that are hurting, lonely, and forgotten.

"Jesus, I know it's not enough to say holy words and visit holy places. I need to become holy! Fill my heart with your love for the poor. May my prayer--my whole life--be more and more pleasing to you."

So after our prayers this morning I told Darrell we better go check if the wash machine was finished so we can get that done before we have to go. Darrell said, "Do you think God works that fast?" I said that isn't what I meant and that I just want to be ready before Sasha calls. We got back inside the apartment and within 3 minutes Sasha called. I told Darrell that I guess God does work THAT fast. He said...unbelievable! God is so good and so loving. We pray that our process can proceed now without further delay and that those involved in decision making to have mercy on us (even if they don't know they are giving mercy but that somehow God moves them to speed it up). We also pray for patience and acceptance in however long this takes as it is all out of our hands and control.

I know many are looking forward to seeing pictures and I'm excited to share them BUT it will have to wait until later today. Lastnight my camera battery was dead so I wasn't able to upload them.

It is currently 3:20am central time. While our morning is almost over you are soundly sleeping.

Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers and replies. We are so thankful for those in our lives and the support you are giving us. If only Isaiah knew not only how blessed he will be to be getting a forever family but also all those awesome people who are involved in his future family's lives.

Have a great Saturday!

July 22 & 23 Update

We picked up our referrals from SDA in Kiev shortly before 5pm on Wednesday then dropped off the Schultz family from Maryland at their hotel then we were on the road about 5:15pm to Nikoleav. It was suppose to be a 5-6 hour drive but ended up being 7 hours. It was a very tramatizing ride for me and if I never make it again I will be so happy. Well, I should be fair and say the first half wasn't so bad...it was a divided highway but not having seat belts made me so nervous. Some say the train ride is horrible others say it's not so bad. I will go with the "not so bad" and take the train back to Kiev when the time comes. I can NOT go through with that drive again. It would be a night train leaving at 8pm and arriving at 6am.

We got to our apartment in Nikolaev around 12:30am. Giligan, our landlady, greeted us and showed us around and what do to. She is so funny and so nice. She speaks Russian, German, and English.

Our first night was a VERY emotional night. It started with the tramatizing ride and then just the unknowns of what the next day would bring. We were only hours from meeting the boy that has been "growing" in "my" heart since Nov. 2008. I was worried about how Darrell would do. He has voiced his concerns about his worry of the "what if's" for a while now...what if he can't love Isaiah...what if he has many health problems that they didn't tell us...what if he is more than we can handle, etc. We got up early after maybe 2 hours of sleep. Sasha, our facilatator in Nikolaev picked us up at 8:30am to head to the City Hall to meet with the social worker for some paperwork. We were told the social worker would ask us questions but she didn't. We then all when to the orphanage, including the social worker to meet with the orphanage director. We were given Isaiah's medical history. He was the first child born to his birth parents. They left him at the hospital in the maternity ward and signed off as parents because they learned he had Down syndrome. A few weeks later he was brought to the orphanage. We got his birth measurments. We also learned that he had heart surgery on July 23rd, 2009. He was admitted into the hospital in Kiev on July 22nd and discharged on July 29th. We learned this information on July 22nd 2010...exactly 1 lear later. He had 2 small holes (not sure of the spellings) but it was minor and he only has a small scar on his back near his heart. He was in the hospital a couple other times for colds, coughs, etc. There is an organization in Switzerland that donates money to kids who need surgeries. Isaiah was a lucky recepient to have had this surgery...not all kids are so lucky. Right now there are 2 little girls in this orphanage who are in the hosptial having surgery thanks to this organization.

After this visit with the orphanage director we were asked if we wanted to meet the child. We said yes. It all happened so fast and we did not get it on video. I saw him as soon as I walked in the door. I didn't know if I could walk right in as nannies had all eyes on us and I felt out of place. So I started slowly walking and no one told me to stop. Isaiah was in his little padded play area with no toys. I picked him up and squeezed and kissed and hugged and kissed and squeezed him. It felt like a dream that FINALLY came true. He was perfect and so stinken cute. I was so hot so I handed him over to Darrell. I was worried that he wouldn't want to hold him but he took him and held him and he said that he felt that everything was going to be alright and many of his "what if" worries vanished. We were able to spend about an hour with him. It was snack time and they took Isaiah and put him in his highchair table and montioned for me to sit down and feed him. I was shocked that I was given this opportunity so soon. Isaiah will be eating mushy food for a while from what I could tell. Alisha told me in the past that Isaiah can drink from a regular cup and I was so impressed as our Joey still struggles. Well after the baked apple snack that I fed him then the nanny handed me a cup of apple juice. I slowly starting putting it to his mouth so he could drink some and the nanny took my hand and showed me how to do it...basically pour it in his mouth and he has no choice but to swallow or let it run out. I felt so sad for him. We then took him outside AFTER the nanny handed us a hat to put on him. All kids wear hats outside. It is so cute seeing them. Since it is so HOT here they all only have on little undies and hats...that's it. Isaiah never once acted scared. He acted like we've been his mom/dad since forever. He cuddled with us, touched our faces, seemed to want to give kisses as he would move his face into our face, stared at our faces, smiled, giggled and NEVER cried a once. It was amazing and so welcomed. He is so lovable and so sweet and so perfect.

Before we went outside with Isaiah we were asked if we wanted this child and we both said yes. They then went to start the paperwork when we went outside. A short while later Sasha came out and said there is a problem. They discovered that on the paper that the birth parents signed that they said only to be adopted in Ukraine. Sasha said it always says both in country and internationally. We could not move forward until this was settled. The birth parents needed to be notified and asked if this child could be adopted by an American family. The birth mother has never visited Isaiah. One of the grandmothers did a few times and then stopped as she felt there was nothing she could do to help him. The orphanage director only had the phone number to this grandmother so she was called. The grandmother then called the mother/father to let them know. We were told the would come the next morning to make the decision. They live about 2 hours from Nikolaev and have just recently given birth to another baby. I was so worried and started crying and Sasha said she is so sure everything will be fine. Darrell said we would have to believe it was God's will IF Isaiah didn't come home with us.

FRIDAY, JULY 23rd, UPDATE...

We met with our landlady at 8am so she could show us how to use the bus system to get to bigger supermarkets and to help us shop. You wouldn't think it would be so hard to shop for food buy try it when everything is in a different language. Every now and then we would see an English word. That was our first experince using the city bus. Quite interesting.

We were a little late getting to the orphanage. The family was suppose to be there at 11am. So I told Darrell that we were going to sit in the front entrance area where there is a couch so we could see them walk in. They wouldn't know us or Isaiah. Well, 11am came and went and so did 11:15. We then went outside to catch a breeze (did I mention it is so HOT here??) and at 11:25 2 older gals and a younger gal came walking up the steps. The younger gal and one of the older gals were crying. I knew it was them. Darrell was sitting on the top step holding Isaiah and I was standing. The young gal kind of looked over Darrell's shoulder to try to see Isaiah. I'm assuming they went up to the orphange directors room. We took Isaiah back to his groupa at 11:30 and sat on the couch. We weren't told to but we wanted to find out what the fate of this little boy whom we wanted to take home to give him a chance at a much better life would be. Sasha had the day off but she had a friend step in for her. She talked with us while we were waiting. The birth mom and her mother came to the entrace area and looked at us and then Sasha's friend and them said a few words and the mom/grandma went back upstairs. Sasha's friend said she told the birth mom that she doesn't need to be sad...that this is a good and very beautiful thing happening. The birth mom told her she didn't know what she was talking about. A while later we were told they wanted to meet us and talk to us. So we walked into the room where both grandma's and the birth mom were sitting and crying. The orphanage director was showing them a photo album of other kids with Ds who were adopted by American families and telling them how well they are doing. In 2 years if Isaiah wasn't adopted he would be transferred into a mental institution where he would likely spend the rest of his days in a crib. The first question they asked us was if we really did have another child with Ds and we said yes. I handed the birth mom our photo album and they all 3 were looking and crying. They got to Joey's picture and stared at it and commented on how he doesn't look like he has Ds. They asked why we wanted to adopt him. After more chit chat between them and director were we then asked if they could have updates with photos. We agreed. We knew their tears were genuine and our hearts were breaking for them. It was very hard not to cry. This seemed like a big bump in the road b/c it is delaying our adoption process b/c we can't move forward until they sign the paper but I told Darrell maybe God allowed this to happen because this family needed some sort of closure. We do know the birth parents split up for a while and it very well could have been b/c of them having this baby with Ds and then giving him up for adoption. This probably has affected them deeply and secretly and their hearts have maybe been breaking everyday since they left him. We will never know but I want to believe good came or will come out of this delay that is not easy for us. The birth mom and mother of the father said they would talk to the father and tell him that they trust us. So now we wait until tomorrow to hear. I'm not even going to begin to think what would happen IF this goes the direction that would break our hearts. We are just trusting and praying that God has Isaiah's best interest in mind. The fate of this little innocent boy could end up on 2 different ends of the spectrum. We may not be the perfect family but we believe we can give him a much better life.

We've asked a few people what Ukrainian's think of Americans coming to adopt because we sense that we are not at all liked. We were told that it isn't that they don't like American's but rather the adoptions because of the stories they hear from what happens to kids in America that are adopted...for instance, the mom who send her adopted child from Russia on an airplane by himself with a note back to Russia. Well, we American's aren't too happy with that mom either. There was supposedly another adopted child who died from being forgotten in a hot car.

Please pray for God's will and IF the will is not in our favor please pray we are able to accept this. It would be a VERY VERY hard thing to understand after many many months of loving this boy and working to bring him home to us.

Phew...the parts of my fingers that are left from the tramatizing ride on Suicide Highway are now tired from typing this novel. Someday the driver will find 10 finger stubs stuck in his seat.

Good Night from Nikolaev.
ps...sorry from any typos. I didn't proofread.

Heading to Nikolaev this evening.

Our driver will be at our hotel to pick us up at 3:30pm. We have to check out at noon so we will hang around the hotel lobby until then. We were going to walk around and site see a bit but neither of us are up for the heat wave. We hope to check out Nikoleav much more as that is where Isaiah comes from.

We ate brunch in the hotel this morning and it was a neat experience. The gal who sat next to me on the plain was telling me how she couldn't wait to eat cottage cheese from back home. She said it was much different than American cottage cheese. So I've been curious and looking for it where ever we go. I found it in the breakfast buffet. It was just ok. The food choices in the buffet were MUCH different than American buffets.

I got Darrell to go out on a walk/jog early this morning before it got super hot. When he leaves I will be too chicken to do things like that on my own.

The trip to Nikolaev is about 250 miles. Any prayers for safety will be appreciated.