Happy Thanksgiving!

Curt and I spent Thanksgiving with Eli and Isaac last year, while waiting for our court date in Ukraine. There the boys had a brief introduction to the tradition of stuffing yourself silly with poultry, potatoes, vegetables, and even cranberry jelly, but today was their first REAL American Thanksgiving, with football on tv and everything. They of course loved it.  I did, too, and am thankful that our boys are here at home with us this year. Next year I hope to be even more thankful, with one more place setting at the table.  As we were putting the leftovers away today, someone remarked that we had just enough for one more person. Next year, Sasha, next year!  He has been missed greatly today.

Coming Home

We're in Munich.  I remember when Germany seemed so exotic, but tonight it feels like home.  We've been to Ukraine enough times now that we've programmed ourselves to quickly get in Ukraine Mode and adjust expectations while there.  It's always such a thrill to stay the night in Munich on the way home (we love the ultra-modern Kempinski Hotel, right in the airport) and rediscover all the luxuries that we take for granted.  Fresh air!  Fitted sheets!  Clean linens!  A soft bed!  Lighting!  Drinkable water from the tap that doesn't smell!  It will be nice to sleep in my own bed tomorrow.

It was SO great to see Anya and Den today.  We need to find a way to bring them to the States once things settle down at our house!

We got to spend a good part of the day with Sasha.  I am so head-over-heels in love with this boy.  Not just the dreamy "Oh, isn't he wonderful" kind of in love, but the intense, sometimes agonizing love a mother has for her child who needs help.  I want to get him home and help him start this new life of his.  What a massive task he is undertaking.  Two weeks from today, Curt and I will fly back to Donetsk.  It will be a long two weeks for Sasha.  We pray that Dec 9 will indeed be our Gotcha Day and that we will all be home as a family soon thereafter.

Got our Court Date!

Another GREAT day in Amvrosiivka.  Who knew this town of 25,000 people near the Russian border could be a source of such great news?

All of our paperwork on the Amvrosiivka side came together beautifully.  We were assigned a judge, and he provided our court date: December 9.  This is unless the paperwork cannot be processed through Kiev that quickly.  In that case it would be postponed.  Victor is hopeful.  In our petition, we have requested a waiver of the ten day waiting period, as we are reuniting the family and we have a well-established relationship with Sasha.  We really want Sasha home for Christmas!

Yesterday we'd told Sasha that we'd come see him today, and again when we got to the orphanage around 4:00 he was waiting for us by the door.  We had a great talk with him and he helped us make arrangements to see Slavek, the oldest brother, tomorrow in Donetsk before we fly out.  Sasha will get to go to Donetsk with us.  I treasure every second with him.  Victor really likes Sasha, too.  What a special kid.

As much as I like our hotel, the little cafe off the lobby is, um, not our favorite.  As much as I've enjoyed our time here in Amvrosiivka, it isn't exactly busting with restaurant options.  After three consecutive meh meals at our hotel's cafe, tonight we asked the cab driver to take us to the nicest restaurant in town.  He took us to a dark back alleyway with no signs and knocked on a steel door. (!)  A woman unlocked it and let us in. It was a restaurant!  We were the only people there, but a nice lady came out and told us what she could offer us: borscht, salad, chicken with potatoes.  I just went with the borscht; the guys went for the whole shebang.  And what do you know, it was GOOD.  The borscht had no beets but lots of cabbage.  Still amazingly good.  How do these Ukrainians make vegetable soup taste so good?  It was served with a plate of raw garlic cloves and hot chilis.  Delicious!  I need to get on the borscht wagon at home.

So tomorrow is shaping up to be another great day.  I get lots of time with Sasha, I finally get to meet the fourth brother in person, I get to see Anya and Den, and I get to fly away to Munich for the night with my Hus.

Our next flight is already booked!  Thanks for all the prayers and well-wishes.

The Day We'd Been Waiting For

It was all worth it.  To see Sasha SO happy today and so sure of what he wants for his future made all of the heartache of the past week, and maybe even the past year, worthwhile.  And I tell you, there's been heartache.  But now, this unbelievably smart, intuitive, observant, determined, charming, nurturing, brave young man will be a Powell soon.  How blessed we all are.

Curt, Victor and I left Kiev around 8:00 last night on the sleeper train.  I love the sleeper train.  I really do.  Yeah, the bathrooms are gnarly, but you get to make up your own little fort and be rocked (sometimes quite violently) to sleep.  We went first class this time, which was even cooler than usual.  Curt and I had a compartment to ourselves, the window shades were nicer, there was a working outlet, mirrors, and the tea was free.  Yippee!

When our joyride was over, we went into Donetsk to meet Vladimir for breakfast.  Vladimir is the director of the Amvrosiivka orphanage and a good friend of ours; he stayed at our house for five weeks this summer when we hosted Sasha.  Vladimir speaks about as much English as we speak Russian, but we have fun trying to communicate.  With Victor around to translate, we were able to have some more meaningful conversations today.

We all drove to Amvrosiivka together.  They've fixed the road!  Sort of, anyway.  Patched it.  It's still pretty scary at times but it's not as bad as it used to be.  I'd spent a lot of time on the train praying for specific things to go our way today; I hadn't even considered mentioning the road.  What a bonus!

We went into Amvrosiivka's version of the bleak communist era government building to meet with a few people.  We first chatted with the Chief of Juvenile Services.  She made what just might be the kindest gesture I've experienced here in Ukraine.  She knew we'd just traveled from Kiev.  Before getting too deep into discussion, she asked if we needed to use the bathroom.  If you've been through this adoption process before, you know how meaningful that is!  Bathrooms are hard to come by in those buildings, and many times it's just not appropriate to ask where they are.  When I told her Yes, thank you, this kind woman offered me a roll of toilet paper (!!!!) and a hand towel to dry my hands.  What a saint.

Our next meeting was with the mayor.  Yes, the mayor of Amvrosiivka.  It’s a small town, and he likes to personally interview all of the potential adoptive parents.  What an interesting concept!  I think I like it.  We got along well.

It was going to be awhile before our paperwork was ready to take to the orphanage so we checked into our hotel. *Nice* new hotel, in little ol’ Amvrosiivka.  Who woulda thought.  There’s even wifi, as you’ve probably figured out.  Hotel Druzhba.

After a few minutes’ rest, we went back out to the car, collected the correct official from the local gloomy government building, and finally headed to the orphanage.  I’d been texting Sasha this week to let him know our status, so he was expecting us today.  In fact, he was waiting for us by the doorway!  I wonder how long he’d been standing there.  J  He was dressed up in a sweater and nice jeans and a HUGE smile that rarely left his face. What a beautiful sight. I flashed back to my visits here with Sasha almost exactly a year ago and relished in how much he’s changed. What a difference hope and love can make.

All of the appropriate people gathered in Vladimir’s office to go through the protocol with Sasha: Do you know these people?  Do you want to be adopted by them and live in America?  Sasha did not hesitate with his answers: “Dah.”  “Dah.”  That meeting wrapped up quickly, then Curt and I had some time with just Sasha.  Victor came in and out to help translate and chat with Sasha a bit.  Sasha told us that he can understand everything we say, he just can’t respond in English yet.  It will happen quickly, no doubt.  He’s a SMART cookie.  I just kept hugging him and hugging him, and he kept smiling and smiling.

We’ll spend some more time with Sasha tomorrow, then Anya and Den (yay!) will pick us up and take us to Donetsk, where we have a few errands to run, including catching a plane back to the States.

Overall, I am feeling very much at peace right now.  Yes, this adoption process can be extremely stressful and Ukraine can be harsh.  But the payoff is huge.  We all know that there are challenges ahead; different challenges than we’re facing with Eli and Isaac, but we feel equipped to take them on. How could we not?   Look at what God has done so far with this journey!  It’s such an honor to play a part in this beautiful testimony of His power, mercy, and love.

Don't Stand in Front of the Door

Ukraine.  I'm ready to go home.  Both Curt and I are feeling frustrated.  Frustrated that we can't plan anything, we have absolutely no control over what is happening and don't understand the conversations going on around and about us.  The framework for our court date keeps shifting, and that really doesn't jive well with Curt's work schedule.  OR Christmas plans.  I really don't want to spend my Christmas in Ukraine but it's looking more and more likely.

The atmosphere here was summed up neatly this morning at the notary office.  I had been ushered into a hallway and was trying to find an out-of-the-way space to park myself when a door swung open and hit me in the shoulder.  The woman who had opened the door said something to me in Ukrainian.  Assuming it was something like "I'm sorry," I smiled and nodded.  Victor then translated for me: "Don't stand in front of the door."  How sweet.

We are resting up at the apartment now, packing and gearing up for the overnight train.  We'll make a quick stop at the SDA to pick up our referral on the way.  We're ready to move on, out of the big city.  The traffic here is insane.  Some of the worst I've seen.

Yikes, I'm complaining a lot here.  The good news: we get to see SASHA tomorrow!  I hope he is as excited to see us as we are to see him.  We are praying that our paperwork moves smoothly in Amvrosiivka and that the overall picture will come into focus quickly.  I pray that Sasha will have peace about leaving everything he knows and starting a whole new life at age 16.  He continues to say that this is what he wants, but it's about to get real for him.

This may be my last post for awhile; we don't know where we are staying in Amvrosiivka and wifi will be unlikely.

SDA Appointment

Day 1 of the nitty-gritty...

The day started with our 11:00am appointment at the State Department of Adoptions, or SDA.  Maria is the go-to person there.  She processed our papers last year.  When we met with her today, she asked about Eli and Isaac and wanted to see pictures.  I showed her one with all five kids, from when Sasha was here this summer.  Maria smiled and smiled.  She looked over our dossier and apologized to us.  She was on vacation in early September when Victor submitted our dossier.  We should have gotten our SDA appointment right away since we are reuniting siblings, she said.  Whoever processed our dossier missed that fact and put us at the back of the line.  That explains a lot, but it's hard to hear.  If things had gone as they were supposed to, we'd have Sasha at home already, instead of doing this now, during the holidays.  Sasha wouldn't have had to spend these extra weeks/months here in Ukraine when he so desperately wanted to come home.  But, it is what it is.  Overall the SDA appointment went well, and we will return tomorrow afternoon to pick up the referral.

Today's agenda also included a quick visit to the US Embassy and purchasing train tickets.  With the typical snags, moments of panic, and horrendous traffic, our work day finally concluded around 5:00.

This is our last night in Kiev.  Tomorrow we will take the overnight train to Donetsk, then immediately drive to Amvrosiivka to see Sasha and start processing paperwork there.  It's quite a big leap culturally from America to Kiev.  From my perspective, it's almost as big a leap again from Kiev to the Donetsk region, especially the smaller towns like Amvrosiivka.

We are off to test out a varenike restaurant and process the events of the day.  I will try to blog tomorrow before we leave the apartment, but we will likely not have internet access in Amvrosiivka, so you may not hear from us again until we hit Munich on our way back.

Gearing up for the Real Fun

I am now fully and completely in Ukraine:  I took a shower here.  I held out as long as I could, but I finally reached the point where I decided I'd be cleaner if I bathed in Ukrainian water than if I didn't.  Funny how taking that first shower was so symbolic for me; like, if I didn't, I would have just been passing through.  Nope, I really am here now.  Fully submerged.

Personal history aside, I'm reminded what a cool city Kiev is, especially when it isn't a thousand degrees below zero.  Not that we explored all that much today.  We slept, got up to eat, slept some more, got up to check the clock, and slept some more.  Then we did a puzzle.  :)  We both feel rested and ready to take the next step.

A friend back home hooked us up with another couple from Oklahoma who is here in Kiev.  We had a great time with them at dinner tonight.  For the record, dinner for me was borscht, for the second day in a row.  It's hard to go wrong here with borscht.  Curt had this awesome dish with sausage, onion, potato, and mushroom called Hunger Kaput.  I love the menu translations here.

Tomorrow will be a busier day, beginning with our SDA appointment.  Victor will lead the charge.  We'll pick up our referral on Wednesday, then take the train to Donetsk Wed night.  We'll see Sasha on Thursday.   Then leave him a couple of days later.  I know all the red tape and delays are part of the process, but this is going to be so hard, jumping back and forth, always being separated from at least one of my children.

A SERIOUS Case of the Deja Vus

And that's not necessarily good.  The adoption process last year with Eli and Isaac was tremendously stressful.  I can't believe we are here, doing this all over again.  I know, it should be easier this time around, but that doesn't change the fact that I have emotional traumas associated with this place.  Nothing compared to the emotional traumas my boys have endured, but it's still hard for me to return.

Having said that, Kiev is a beautiful, fascinating city, and we are staying right in the heart of it.  Our apartment for the next 3.5 days is half a block off Independence Square.  We won't get lost!  This is the nicest apartment I've seen in Ukraine (for the whopping fee of $85/night).  Curt and I are trying to couch this as a romantic getaway.

The flight wasn't too terrible.  Everything was on time and there was no drama.  I love the German airports and always enjoy our layovers in Munich, or as with today (yesterday?), Frankfurt.  It was good to see Victor's smiling face when we got through customs in Kiev.  We had our first dill-laced meal, are stocked up with what we need, and plan to have a lazy day tomorrow before our SDA appointment on Tuesday.  Prayers for a speedy and smooth process are always appreciated!

Four Days to Blast Off

FINALLY.  We leave for Kiev on Saturday.  I am very excited, but I'm dreading this trip at the same time.  Picturing going through this whole process again is drudging up all sorts of bad memories.  My heart stops whenever I think of the cold, hard stares, the language issues, traveling on those dangerous roads, the filthy apartments, the bracing cold, the toxic air and water, the lack of hope and joy, and the horrifying conditions that our brothers and sisters live in.  It will serve as a convincing reminder of how good my life is.

Of course I am eager to see Sasha and bring him home, but now that we're ready to sign the final papers and book that one way flight for him to Tulsa, that part is a bit nerve-wracking, too.  I had a pastor friend in San Diego who used to talk about doing "the next right thing."  Don't look too far ahead, he'd say, because it will look like too big of a mountain to climb and it will freak you out.  Just make the next right decision.  God's word is a lamp unto our feet (Psalm 119:105); a lamp doesn't illuminate the entire journey, just the next step or two.  This philosophy is what got Curt and me through our marathon ordeal in Ukraine last year.  Likewise with Sasha, Curt and I have done our best to align ourselves with God's word so that we can hear His voice and trust that He is leading us to make the next right decisions.  That series of (hopefully) right decisions has led us here: to the brink of adopting a fifth child, a 16 year old boy who is much more experienced in the world than his brothers.  I have said before that I believe in my heart that Sasha IS our child, but now it's about to be real.  He'll be living in our house; a part of our daily lives and our hearts.  He'll create a whole new identity for himself as a Powell.  This will be a monumentally difficult adjustment for him, but one he seems eager to take on.  I pray that all seven of us are ready for this.

Are we packed?  Almost.  Loose ends are being tied up, arrangements are being made.  Hopefully we really will fly back to Tulsa in time for Thanksgiving (I'm hosting! lol) with a court date set for the following week in Ukraine.  Anyone need a test subject for a sleep deprivation study? :)