Four Days In

We are honeymooning. Alex is doing SO well. He must have so many conflicting thoughts swirling around in his head, but for now, he has them under control.  He seems to be comfortable and finding his footing.

My emotions are under control, too, most of the time. I am sleeping, finally. I am almost healthy again. Every now and then I'll get a wave of grief, knowing what Alex has been through and the tough adjustments that lie ahead for him. I want to make up for 16 years of neglect in that one moment.  I have to keep telling myself to be patient and pace myself--he will still be here tomorrow.  Healing takes time.

Continued prayers for all seven of us are appreciated.

HOME

We are all home.   We're done. It's over. No more endless flights to/from Ukraine. No more leaving my children behind.  No more adoption paperwork.  I could go on and on but you get the picture. Now all of our focus can be directed on bonding as a family of seven and helping Alexander adjust to this brand new, very different life in America.  It will not be a seamless transition, I am aware.

We sure got off to a great start last night, though. It was a beautiful scene at the airport. Alex smiled as soon as he saw the crowd waiting for him, and didn't stop smiling until he went to bed. Once home, Alex, Eli, and Isaac chased each other around, squealing, over my "YOU HAVE SCHOOL TOMORROW!  GO TO BED!" directives. Once the four younger kids were safely tucked away, Alex hung out in the kitchen with Curt, me, Nana, and Papo. Alex was still grinning from ear to ear, just watching us and listening to the friendly banter. After another round of goodnight hugs, Alex slept for a long time.  Probably as long as I would have slept had my alarm not woken me up at 6:30 to get the kids ready for school.  I should be able to sleep in tomorrow, though. By my calculations, if you don't count some light snoozing on the flights, I got a total of seven hours sleep from Monday through Thursday. No wonder I have a sore throat and stuffy ears again. I am so relieved that we can get into some sort of normal routine now.  We have an easy weekend ahead; perfect for just hanging out together at home.  Let the future begin!

Thoughts from the Plane

We are in the air!  Goodbye Ukraine. Next time I visit, if there is a next time, hopefully it will be on my terms. I actually had mixed feelings leaving Kiev, knowing it might be the last time I see it. Kiev is a beautiful, fascinating city and I've gotten to know it quite well.

If I had mixed feelings leaving Ukraine, I can only imagine the rush of emotions Sasha must be feeling right now. Well, he's sleeping right now. :)  But still. Neither of us slept at all last night. Too much to think about, I am sure.

Now that we are safely out of the country, let me tell you about our experience.  You probably know that because of recent actions by the Ukrainian government, tensions between the police and the protesters are running very high. Three protesters died yesterday, changing the whole face of the conflict.  The worst clashes were not happening at Maidan, but further east.  Our apartment was near the Golden Gate, a few blocks west of Maidan.  I was a bit nervous about the location but Victor wanted us to be close to the embassy, and central Kiev is where the rental apartments are.  Unless Victor was driving us to or from the embassy, Sasha and I stayed very close to the apartment. We did not walk down to Maidan.  We did hear lots of booms our first night. Fireworks?  Bombs?  I don't know. Victor thinks probably fireworks; protesters "celebrating the revolution."  We did witness some of the action on our way to the airport this morning.  Our taxi driver picked us up at 3:00am for our 6:00am flight. We drove by an outer set of barricades near Maidan, through a crowd of maybe 50 people. I couldn't really tell what was going on--if there was a scuffle of some sort of if it was just protesters organizing, but it was pretty intense. We stopped at a stoplight and there was a handsome young man right outside my car window, wearing a helmet. Under the new Ukrainian laws he could be imprisoned for this "offense."  We stared at each other for a few seconds while I said a quick prayer for him and the other brave souls who were out there in the middle of the night in the bitter cold, taking huge risks to stand up for what they believe in. Freedom. Something we Americans take for granted all too often.

We are DONE

Visa and all final paperwork are in hand. Easy peasy. We leave for the airport in 15 hours.

Reporting in from Kiev

I knew this trip would be a whirlwind and I was right. You know how when you travel to Europe for fun, your plane lands, you make your way to your apartment/hotel/villa, and you have the option to immediately go to sleep?  Yeah that doesn't happen here. I walked out of the Kiev airport 6.5 hours ago and I'm just now able to start shutting down.  Paperwork to do, phone calls to make, discussions to be had...all on a jet-lagged and exhausted brain. I have about twelve hours now until I need to rev back up again for the embassy appointment. When I had my final embassy appointment with Eli and Isaac, it was easy and almost joyful, as we were ALL DONE. I am hoping for the same scenario tomorrow.

What about Sasha?! you may be asking. Yes he's here, and he's in great spirits. He's calm, confident, and excited about his future. He is fascinated with the political happenings in his native country and is forming some pretty strong opinions about it all.  I love that he is paying attention and really processing it.  Anya came to Kiev with Sasha on the train but has already gone, on the train back to Donetsk. I miss her so much already.  Victor has been with us for most of the day but has headed home. He will be back in the morning to take us to the embassy.  So now it's just Sasha and me, in our apartment. We are near the opera house, very close to the apartment I had with Kayla, Eli and Isaac over a year ago. This one is very clean and comfortable and there is a little market right across the street. It will be just fine for the next, well, 30 hours or so.

I'm tired. I will post again tomorrow if I can.

Ready for One More Trip

Sasha has his passport and has passed the medical exam. All that is left is the final embassy appointment. A nothingburger, right?  Still, I'm holding my breath. I leave for Kiev Monday. Sasha leaves for Kiev Monday. His bag is packed and he's ready to go. My bag is not yet packed but I am beyond ready to go.

We are scheduled to arrive in Tulsa Thursday (Jan 23) evening: 7:20, United, from Houston. Whoever would like to come greet us is more than welcome. Make signs, bake us cookies, or just meet us with a smile. :)  We won't stay long, as we will both be exhausted and aching to go home. I would love to see some friendly, familiar faces when we arrive, though, and I'm sure it would mean a lot to Alexander/Sasha. So if you can, come have a little party with us.

Finally Some GOOD News from Ukraine

I just heard from Victor.  He expects to have Sasha's international passport in three days.  The issues appear to have been straightened out, and now it's just a matter of waiting for everything to be processed.  With passport in hand, Sasha will travel to Kiev for the required medical exam, then when I arrive we will have our final embassy appointment.  That *should* be it.  I hesitate to take anything for granted these days.  I am scheduled to leave Tulsa Jan 20, arrive Kiev Jan 21, and fly home with Alexander Curtis Powell Jan 23.

In the meantime, Sasha has been taking English lessons at Anya and Den's house.  He is doing well by all reports.  Better than I am, it seems.  I am fighting off a nasty illness.  As hard as it was to leave Sasha in Ukraine, it is probably better than I am sick at home than sick in Ukraine.

So now we all just count the days.

Marking Time

In about 12 hours, I'll board my flight out of Kiev.  Until then, I'm holed up in my little apartment, napping when I feel like it and snacking occasionally.  Victor came by earlier today to check on me and review our plan.

Victor made some phone calls and it sounds like Sasha is doing well in Donetsk.  Tomorrow Sasha will start his daily English lessons with Anya.  Hopefully he can stay focused on preparing for his future, and hopefully Victor will supply him with some good news when the passport office opens again next week.  I pray that something good will come of this extra time in Donetsk.  Sasha has a great relationship with Anya and Den; may that bond between them continue to strengthen, may Anya and Den speak truth into Sasha's life, may Sasha really listen to these new voices that he is so drawn to, may Anya and Den represent the Powell family, and more importantly, God, in this painful extended limbo.

May I have peace, coming home alone.  May I have strength to do this again--to prepare his room at home again, to pack for another Ukraine trip, to explain to people why Sasha isn't here, to mentally prepare myself for the flight and the vastly different culture, food, and language, to say goodbye to Curt and the other four kids again.

I'll post again from Tulsa.

NYE Report

That was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.  Sasha is back in Donetsk.  Anya says he was very chatty and in good spirits on the train.  I'm thankful for that.

Remember my dream a few weeks ago about Sasha and me having to take a train from Ukraine to Japan before we could board a flight to go home?  That's seeming more and more relevant, huh?  In my spotty sleep last night I dreamed I was trying to get back to Sasha in Ukraine.  Of course my flight was cancelled, and the only alternative was to take China Air, through China.  This has got to end.

I promised I'd write about happier times, so here's my NYE report.

Anya and Den arrived at our door just after I'd heard the bad news about Sasha's passport.  They wisely took charge and insisted we go on with our plans for a fun, festive celebration.  Anya, Den, and Sasha went grocery shopping for our feast while I sorted things out here at the apartment.  They returned with lots of local goodies and we all went to work, preparing dinner.  We had caviar, roasted pork loin, potatoes, three different kinds of Russian/Ukrainian salads, bread (of course), and a plate of meats/cheeses/olives/pickles.  I guess this counts as yet another major holiday meal with Anya and Den?  How many more until they are officially family? Or did we cross that line already? :)

I really love the four of us together.  Anya and Den move very fluidly between languages so the conversation is constantly alternating between Russian and English, with the frequent "What did he say?" from me and "What did she say?" from Sasha.  Anya and Den are the perfect bridge between Sasha's old life in Ukraine and his new life in America; a very important bridge given the current situation.

After our feast was cleaned up, we bundled up and ventured outside.  The party at Maidan was supposed to be extra special this year.  This was my first one so I can't compare it to other NYE celebrations at Maidan, but yes, this certainly was special.  We spent hours wandering the streets around the main square, taking in all the sights.  Sasha was fascinated by all of the political dialogue.  I was stunned by how civilized and orderly everything was.  Keep in mind that police/military are not allowed in this area; it's being occupied by the protesters.  There were HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE there, with no police to keep order, and the mood was amazingly calm and cordial.  My local friends keep explaining to me that Ukrainians are peaceful.  I'm sold.

We went inside the opposition headquarters.  You may remember that the protesters seized a major government building.  They are now using this building as their hub; a place for protesters to get food, warmth, medical attention, and other services.  Words cannot explain.  That's it, just, words cannot explain.

At one point during the evening we wandered outside the barricades into a beautiful, just gorgeous neighborhood.  We came upon a different kind of barricade, with police lined up perfectly, standing at attention.  The president's house.  Feeling uneasy, I insisted we turn around and head back to Maidan.  Den was hoping to find a church so we could ring in the New Year with prayer.  We didn't find one outside the barricades, but once in the main square at Maidan, we stumbled upon a tent that housed an Eastern Catholic church.  Perfect.  We were right in the middle of the square when the clock struck twelve.  We stepped outside the tent to watch the fireworks, the lanterns float up into the sky, and to hear a few hundred thousand people sing the Ukrainian national anthem together as a show of solidarity.  Yet another once in a lifetime experience.  This one will never leave me.

Our Last Day Together as a Party of Four

Den, Anya, and Sasha are leaving for Donetsk early tomorrow morning. Big breath. How can I do this? We've made so much progress since we got to Kiev. Now Sasha gets knocked back down to the ground again.  Start over. I know, he's tough. He's had to be. He assures me he'll be okay. Oh Lord, I hope he's right. The silver lining is that I have Anya and Den in town to check on him and be my voice.

The four of us had fun today, enjoying this beautiful city and talking about Sasha's new life in America.

I'll have two full days to myself here in Kiev before flying home on Saturday. I'll catch up on the blog (I will write about our amazing NYE) and hopefully my sleep. I may even read my book that I keep bringing to Ukraine. I'm a little nervous about venturing too far into the city on my own, although I've gotten to know the city center pretty well after this, my fourth visit. Kiev really is a beautiful, fascinating, sophisticated city.  And (holding my breath) I should only have one more brief visit.