Hello Enakievo

Curt here:

What a whirlwind 24 hours it has been.  After getting our referral letter from the SDA yesterday afternoon, we grabbed dinner with Viktor and then boarded the overnight train for the 12 hour trip from Kiev to Donetsk.  Interesting trip.  The compartments are set up as 2 bunk beds on each side.  We purchased all 4 spots so that we would have room for both of us and Viktor and would not have a surprise guest in our compartment.  After a couple of games of Skip Bo (Clay would be so proud of me, as I won them both), We 'retired' for the evening.  We have periodically told you how great Viktor is, and we discovered another reason: he does not snore.......loudly.  Actually, it was kind of hard for Jocelyn and I to get to sleep due to the rough ride and noise, but it was great to be able to lie down for the trip.  A little Dramamine and several thousand counted sheep later we finally got about 3-4 hours of shut-eye.

We arrived in Donetsk at 0800 where Sasha met us at the train station.  Sasha is the awesome driver we had on our last trip.  We were surprisingly able to fit all of our luggage and ourselves into his Skoda Octavia, and then it was off to a coffee shop for a caffeine bolus and some breakfast.  We then went next door to a notary to have referrals to Juvenile Services in Donetsk and Enakievo notarized.  Then, it was off to Juvenile services for a meeting with the Inspector that took about a half hour.  The Inspector and Viktor had a nice conversation, and then it was finally off to Uglegorsk to see the Boys!

The orphanage was just as we had remembered it from earlier this year.  We checked in with Larissa, the Social Worker, and then went to a meeting with the Director.  She spoke with us about our family and why we wanted to adopt the boys.  After a few minutes the little Dudes came in dressed in their very best.  I had almost forgotten what beautiful children they are.  They were all sparkly eyes and smiles, but you could tell they were a little nervous, like they knew this was finally the day, and they did not want to 'blow it'.  The Director asked them several questions such as: "do they know who we are, do they realize that we are here to adopt them into our family, do they realize that if they are adopted they will be living in America and be American citizens, do they want to be adopted by us", etc.  After a series of emphatic 'Dah's, the boys whisked us away to their 'common room' to play some games while Viktor, the Director and Larissa completed some necessary paperwork.  Larissa chuckled and said that they have been asking her on a daily basis when we were coming for them.  After about 30 minutes, Viktor came and took the Boys back downstairs to finish some paperwork.  The boys came back after about 30 minutes and we put together a puzzle and then played a little catch with some balls they still had from our last visit.  After awhile, Viktor came back and said we had to go.  The Boys quickly ran up to Viktor and made sure that we would be coming back, and he assured them that we would.

Next, Sasha drove us to the Crystal Hotel.  Viktor said we could shower and freshen up for about an hour, as he needed to go and talk to the Inspector at Juvenile Services some more.  Having not been able to shower for 2 days, we were eagerly anticipating showers.  However, when we got into our room, we discovered a water main had burst and there was no water in the hotel.  We hung out in the room until Viktor called, and then we headed back to the orphanage for a meeting with the Doctor that is on staff there.  He had supposedly reviewed both Boys' medical records, and said they were both healthy with no major medical problems. He said they each had a cold this last year.  They are examined twice a year, and all of their lab work is normal.  They will be examined by American doctors at the U.S. Consulate when they are flying home, and by our kids' physicians when they get back to Tulsa, but at least the report sounded good.  After that meeting we headed back to Juvenile Services for a third meeting with the Inspector.  We then headed over to meet up with the Pillet's, the family that is adopting Olya.  They are wonderful people, and it was great to see Olya again.  What a lovely young lady inside and out.  They started this process a week before us and were waiting for their court date.   Viktor found out today it had been set for November 15th, but he was able to get it switched to November 1st (Praise God and Viktor rocks).  After our quick visit, it was  back to the Hotel.  Still no water.  Viktor got the manager to give us rooms at a different hotel by the same owner (The Salut Hotel), so Sasha came back for the switch.  Next it was off for a much needed dinner and then back to the Hotel for nice hot showers and some much needed chillin'.

Now it is time for some rest.  We are heading out at 0730 tomorrow AM for the Boys birth city, which is a suburb of Donetsk (about an hour's drive).  We will be meeting with the Inspector there at Juvenile Services.  Once everything is cleared through that office, we will be able to file the full dossier back in Enakievo in order to get our much anticipated court date.  Prayers are much appreciated that everything goes smoothly tomorrow, and that we are able to file the papers in a timely manner and get a favorable court date.