MATCHING PJ NIGHT!

So before we went to go get the kids from the Ukraine we had purchased these matching pajamas for all the kids. They love that they are the same but it is really crazy to see how big they are on Anna and Vlad. So to compare Allie is 7 years old and only 4 months older then Anna. Vlad will be nine in December and Noah just turned six in September. Amazing to see the size differences. The boys both wear size 6 and we had to split Noahs clothes so that Vlad would have something to wear, he was so generous and picked out some of his favorites to give to him. Anna is just a peanut and she is wearing a size 4-5 clothes and size 8-9 shoes, Allies wears 8-10 clothes and Size 2 Shoes. I guess having good nutrition and milk make a huge difference in growth. They are also doing really great in school Anna is in First Grade and Vlad is in Third, so we have Two First Graders, One Second Grader anad One Third Grader. Anna is picking up sign language very quickly and starting to say the English words very quickly after, she get so excited when you understand what she is saying. SHe is finally calling Kevin Dada instead of MaMa since that is what they pretty much called everyone in the orphanage. Vlad is having a more difficult time with language and communication and we are concerned that he may have a hearing problem so we are going to get the hearing screening and visit the ENT next week. Hopefully we will get some answers to help him out. Things have been going pretty well except the sheer exhaustion of adding two more kids to a two parent working household.

Pics Finally!

So it has been a crazy ride the last few days. Picked up Kevin and the kids Thursday night at Denver International Airport, they came in early so I just drove up and we threw the bags and the kids in the car and took off. No fussing whatsoever about the car seats, they actually think that they are pretty neat and do not try to unbuckle. Thank Goodness!! We went out to eat at Famous Dave's and they are so well behaved out to eat it was amazing. They tried all the new food there and on the plane with no problems. Well that is until the middle on the night when Vlad threw up half his dinner, he had eaten so much food it was crazy. We should have known better but it is hard to say no when you know what they have been eating for their whole lives. We got home and they went right to bed in their new beds no fuss at all and have every night since. Friday we spent the day together as a family and just hung out at home and let everyone get to know each other.All the kids have been getting along so well and not really any jealousy either way. It is amazing how small they are Vlad wears the same size as Noah who is Three years younger and we have had to down size her clothes and shoes several times to finally get her pants to stay up. Seven years old and wears a 4-5 and a size 9 shoes which is still to big. Saturday we took them to the local rec center to go swimming and they thought is was great and did not want to leave, did not much care for the showers though. After that they had the inflatable bouncy castle up and they bounces for quit a while, played basketball and ping pong. Then we went home had some luch and headed to a local Punpkin Run event where we painted pumpkins, took a horse and carraige ride and did a little trick or treating. All of which they really enjoyed. Needless to say they ended up in bed early that night after dinner. Then next morning we took them to church and everyone was so excited that they were home and they were shaking everyones hands and Vlad loved the music and the instruments. We headed home for some lunch and a lazy sunday afternoon nap, very much needed especially for us! Today was columbus day so I had the day off, we figured we would try to get a few things done to get them ready for school, well the day ended up pretty busy. We took both of them to the dentist and got complete x-rays and cleanings, they were amazing!! They said they did better then most kids and they were so proud of their goodie bags with the new toothpaste and toothbrushes. Then we stopped at their school and we figured that we would just drop off shot records and birth certificates. Well they had other plans, when we got there they were totally ready for them, we got to meet their individual special ed teachers, class room teacher and toured their rooms and school. They have each a para ready and two Ukrainian speaking translators to help with their transistion and testing for their IEPs. Then they said so are they ready to start tomorrow and we were so suprised, but said yes since Kevin is still off of work this week so he can be there if he needs to. They were really surprised at how well they did for their ages and they will be Vlad in 3rd Grade and Anna in 1st grade. They plan to have them be in their classrooms as much as possible once they transition. Anna allready says Allie, Lindsay, sit, Dad, Noah and today started saying Hi. After that we ended up heading to the local eye doctor who specializes in children with Downs and figured out what was causing the green discharge for Vlad's eyes, sounds like it will be a life long battle but once we get it under control it will be a minor nightly cleaning and he allready looks and feels so much better. Everything is moving so quickly since they came home and sometimes it just seems unreal, they have acclimated so quickly that it is amazing. We are starting to get a little testing now and I take that to mean that they feel comfortable enough here now to try things out a litte. Sometimes it feels like you are on a emotional roller coaster, you really never know how all of it is going to affect you emotionally. But it is so truly amazing to see how happy the kids are to be HOME!

WELCOME HOME!

Well everyone is finlly home!!!!!!!!!!!! Pictures to follow and when we get settled more I will write some more. Just know that everything is going well.

GOTCHA DAY!

So Kevin said that Monday was a really good day! OUr attorney and driver picked them up to go get the kids and they had brought snacks. When they go there the orphanage had planned them a going away party and they gave each kid new out fits and winter coats. Wow was he surprised. They had also purchased a electric fireplace for their room with our donation money. Then he got back and got the passports, he said it was pretty awesome to see the kids, passports and birth certificates all together in one place, made it real. They went to get tickets on the night train and they were sold out so then ended up on the exspress train which left early and they did not have much time to pack and get to the train. Nico picked them up at the train station and then in the morning they went to the embassy, they said that they should have visas ready by Wednesday, medicals are done and they should fly out on schedule Thursday. Kevin definately seemed in a much better mood having the kids with him. He said he had to teach them how to eat a hamburger and drink threw straws. Anna seems to think it is a game to see how many times she can get him to take her to the potty, silly girl. Can't wait to have the whole family together and the kids here are getting very excited to meet Vlad and Anna and also have their Dad home. He has spent a total of 33 days in the Ukraine. Keep the prayers coming until the land at 5pm Thursday.

Desperately Need Help!

Well we are in a bit of trouble. Kevin called and they keep finding additional ways for us to have to spend more money. Right now he is short the money we need now to process the documents at the US Embassy to bring the kids home. We need to have an additonal 800.00 to Kevin by Monday at the latest so that he can get these kids home. He is getting very frustrated and we need to wrap this up and be done with all the red tape. We are desperately begging that if any one can donate any amount to try to make up this difference. Please contact me by E-mail if you would be willing to give us a hand in bringing them home. Keep praying for us that God will be faithful.

Hubby is Frustrated!

I feel so helpless when he calls frustrated with what is happening and he feels like they do not understand what he is saying. They would not let him take the kids today because he was a DAD and he was a MOM they would have, they said he couldn't handle it. If any of you know my husband you would agree that he probably would handle it better then me that is for sure. He is the one who was raised with a downs brother and is way more comfortable in the Ukraine them I was. They are having difficulty understanding the attorney and he wonders what the extra charges are and is not getting anywhere. Another 800.00 for passports that was not expected, I don't know where we are going to keep coming up with this extra money. I guess we will do whatever it takes to get everyone home but as it stands right now I have to come up with at least another $800.00 just to get him home and that is if no other mystery charges come up. Looking like ramen noodles and mac and chees for the rest of the month.

God is Good!

So they managed to get both birth certificates done today. Kevin said it is pretty cool to see them with our names on them, they are our children!!!!! And also his luggage was returned today so that is a big relief. So now it is up to how fast they turn over their passports, they say three days. But we just saw them do Austin's is the US in hours so I know it can be faster.

11th Day is Here!

Well as we were all sleeping My husband has been running around all day trying to get all the documents done in one day to be able to get to the passport office by 4pm to apply for their passports. Praying that everything went well and that right now they are on their way to the drop off the Birth Certificate at the passport office, it is 3pm there right now. Also that by a miracle they will complete them in record time so that he can bring Anna and Vlad home quickly. I am so blessed to have such an awesome husband who is willing to go back and brave the culture shock again to bring his kids home and a Godly 13 year old son who stepped up to volunteer to help his Dad bring his new siblings home. One of the great blessings of this whole experience is that you can never look at your world tha same way again. And we know that through the difficult times is when we grow in maturity the most.

My men are getting ready to leave!

My husband and oldest son are leaving today to go back to the Ukraine to get the kids. The 10 day wait period is up Tuesday and they will be ready to hit the ground running to complete all the necessary paperwork, passports and visa to get our kids home. Please pray that all goes smoothly and the guys have som special time together.

Update of Photos!

Here are some photos of the Orphanage and the girls in her group with the necklaces on that my brother made for us to bring. He also knitted hats and scarfs and the house mother really liked them. Sorry blogger is being fussy with the pics so I will just write and update. Since we last talked we made a trip back to Kiev to get the second referral for Vlad and then returned back to the village to file all the paperwork. That was a crazy day of running back and forth but our attorney got it all in and by the end of the day we had the court date of the 17th which is this friday. We found out that the place we were staying in the village wsa taken for the next 10 days so we had to come back to Karkov and stay at anb apartment there until court. It is a very nice apartment which has everything we need but it means that they made an exception for us that we have to visit the kids everyother day for two hour minimum before court. Usually they make you visit daily but since it is an hour drive there and back it makes it tough and very exspensive on our end. It gets very boring sometimes but we have been exsploring the city and getting alot of walking in. We have found another pizza place a grocery store and of course finally the coffe shop to get internet. Talk Soon.

Court on the 17th

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we have a court date. It is the 17th which is this coming Friday, I will try to post more pics tomorrow when we have a day off from visiting the orphanage. Please pray for a uneventful court and waiving of the 10 day period.

Well Today was better!

We had to make a final decision today if we were going to go back to Kiev and get the referral for Vlad.It has been an emotional week and very exhausting. We were very torn he has taken to Kevin but wants nothing to do with me, I am just another MAMA. Some of his behaviors were concerning and we were wondering if he would bond and be able to listen and behave. Nothing serious but we wantede to make sure we were taking everyone in the family into consideration and what life was going to look like. I am not a stay at home mom nor do I want to be at this point in life, I love my job and yes I do miss being at work. I work with some awesome women who have been so supportive and I just never want to take advantage of them, you guys rock! Also with Kevins variable schedule we need to make sure we could do it logistically. So we talked to the kids last night and explained the situation and they were shocked that we were even questioning not bringing him home. I told them that he had an attitude and was going to take so extra work and patience and Lindsay told us that she has plenty of attitude some times as a teenage and we never gave up on her. She also called me out for taking it to personally that he did not like me. And she reminded us that the reason that we are here is because that is what God called us to do and we have to stand on Faith not fear. That we were under attack and that Satan was trying to cause us not to agree to get his will done. I sure am lucky to have such a great kid, well I have the best kids in the world and I can't wait to hug each of them. They are being so brave and they said as long as they have us we can get through anything as a family. During this process I have realized how lucky that we truly are and how blessed we are. The conveniences that we have in the USA are amazing and I am going to learn to stop and look at everything with much more appreciation. Thnak You God for opening our eyes today and giving us a great visit with the kids. he made it very clear in several ways today that we needed to bring him home to his family. Will post more pictures later my body is so sore that I do not want to get up and walk across the room to get the camera. 3 hours of walking a day makes me wish that I had working out on the eliptical more before we left. Knots in your calf and shin split but you just kepp walking to see the kids. PERSERVERANCE!!!!

HAPPY 6th Birthday NOAH!

September 4th is NOAH's Birthday and we are sad to miss it. Today is the Buddy WaLK in Wyoming and the sponsors give everyone tickets to the University of Wyoming Cowboy footbal game so I know he is excited for that. I hope you have good day Noah MOM and DAD love you so much and can't wait to see you soon. Here are some pics of his party before we left.

Thursday!

So what our day consists of is wake up at 8am shower, eat banana and walk to orphanage to see kids. Takes about 45 minutes to walk there, although we are getting quicker and the weather has been so nice, cool and rains at night. Stay there until they eat lunch at noon. We walk back for a few hours rest and then walk back again at 4pm until about 5:30pm. Walk back to apartment and then we have dinner at the little pub downstairs, usually a burger pattie (what kind of meat I do not know but it is edible so I do not want to know) and homemade french fries which are really good. Tonight we braved the ice cream cone from one store and it was pretty good. Each day seems a little easier to survive here. Survivor Ukraine Ha! Although each day away from our kids back home seems more difficult, we pray every day for speedy court and waiving of the 10 days if not waived I will have to return on the 19th without Kevin.
One of the weirdest things is the animals just wandering around, we are all used to wild cats but wild dogs and we saw this cow out front out apartment. There was a herd of little piglets in the middle of the road today and the roosters crow in the morning.

PICS

Travel to Region.

So we left for Karkov by train Tuesday night, slept on the train and arrived at 6:20 am. Got picked up at train station and drove 200 km to orphanage. We got to see both kids. Found out that they are both healthy and have no heart problems. They have a really nice orphanage it even has a pool and a school. We were told that they just returned yesterday from a camp in country for special needs kids. These photos are from the train and our new room. We were very lucky to find this place there is literally no lodging and we almost had to stay at a lady from the orphanage house. We will be staying here until Sunday night when we go back to Karkov ans catch the train back to Kiev for Vlad's referral and then return until court to the region with the kids. Both kids took very well to us and we had a good visit. They are treated just like the other kids and are expected to keep. They cut Alyssa's hair and it looks just like my sweet Allie back home. Vlad is a little smaller then we anticipated, the clothes will be baggy on the way home, he might end ud getting hand me downs from Noah.

Got our referral for alyssa!

So we got our referral paperwork this afternoon for Alyssa which means we get to go see the kids. We are leaving tonight at 10:20pm for Karkov. Good thing we slept until 2:00pm this afternoon, we were up early in the morning talking to the kids back home. It is tough being away from them. So we found this really neat little pizza place tonight for dinner and I think we will probably eat there again when we come back. Here are some more pics of the pizza place and around our apartment. Looking forward to meeting the kids tomorrow. Yulia said that they are so excited that we are coming for the kids because the workers faught really hard for them to have one more chance to be placed and we are their last chance. She said we will love them so much they are very smart and great kids! That's good cuz we are only used to having great kids!! Love you guys!! So the Sonny with a chance. So I am sure that you guessed one of the channels is Disney. We are getting a kick out of watching their music videos. The picture of the pizza place has all these girls in front they all where skinny jeans and high heals, I don't know how they do it. Well better go get ready to leave!

We are there!

So we made it to kiev allright, all the flights went perfect connections and layovers were great and meals on the plane were very good. Lufthansa was a great airline and they took very good care of us. We arrived at 2:30 Kiev time and were meeted at the airport by Nico who was very nice and he took us to exchange money, get some water and brought us our apartment. From there we crashed so that we would not be tired for our appt this morning. At the appt we found out that Alyssa was abandoned at birth and parental rights were sighned away then. Sad to think that anyone could just walk away from their child. We got a few pictures of her, one baby picture one from about a year ago and one from April this year. Serge our representative tried very hard for them to give us both referrals at once but they would not do it. So we wait for our documents tomorrow between 4-5pm and then it sounds like we head after that to the orphanage. We will be able to meet both children but then after we fill out the paperwork for her we will have to come back to Kiev to get the second referral, so that should delay us only about 2 days.

READY SET GO!

Getting finished packing and making sure we have everything. Seems like I am forgeting something. The kids did not want to go to bed and were crying. It was so hard to watch them cry, we are going to miss them so much. So muching the last few weeks with school starting, Grandma and Grandpa coming and Mom and Dad leaving to get their new brother and Sister. Pray for patience for my mother and father in law and safety for our travels please. It all is not sinking in yet not sure when it will all hit me.

We Have A Date!

So today we got our travel date! August 30th at 9am. So we will be leaving on the 28th to go get the kids. Now we get crazy and start getting ready. To busy to write more right now lots to do.