Home pics

HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are HOME!!!!!!

I never thought being HOME could feel so good!!

Thank you all for praying.

It is 5:15am Ukrainian time so we are heading to bed!! Thank you all for praying!!

Also - a big thank you for the balloons and signs and food welcoming us home!!

British Airways

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That was easy!

I need one of those Staples buttons that says "That was easy". Praising God after yesterday.  On the way home I thought - I should have flown home tonight!

THANK YOU ALL for your encouraging words and prayers. They have been a life line for us!! I read these verses this morning and was like - this is us! We have so much to thank God for in this Journey. 

Please don't stop praying for us. The next part of the journey is going to be a huge adjustment for all.

II Corinthians 1:10B-11
On Him we have set out our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the Gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of MANY.

Thank you!!!!!

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The Embassy

Embassy day

Yesterday we were on 3 different platforms to find our train and we finally did. Train ride wasn't bad - the kids watched two movies on the laptop and I read and then played Phase 10. :)

We got in at 6:45am, ate and dropped our things at the apartment and rushed over to the Embassy! (It gets good here.) We go in & I have tons of papers and I hand them in.  The lady at the counter tells me I need the original Birth Certificates, which I thought I had but I just had copies.  Then she tells me I need the original of a paper we handed in the day before in the town that is now 14 hours (a very long train ride!) away!!!! What do I do?!! I start to cry!!!

While I am crying I am filling out a form that Keith signed in the states and got notarized and I filled it out wrong because I am so upset.  I am SO thankful that Keith and I did two of those papers, so I just turned in the other one!! So the lady says have the kids stay in the Embassy and go talk to whoever is helping us.  The place that the original paper is at is only open on Tuesdays!!! I am thinking I am NEVER going to get out of this country.

So, I go out still not looking too good to my failitator and she finds the birth certificates in her stuff. We make some calls and I am supposed to tell them that a copy is all that we can produce.  I go back in and give her the Birth Certificates and she is very happy!!  I tell her the deal and she says that she talked to someone and they said we don't need that original.  I am beyond happy at this moment.  She tells me I am her best customer because I didn't yell at her! Kind of funny.

She tells me to go home and relax. *whew* We leave there and spend 4 hours getting the kids physicals and more paperwork. Next we went to the bank for the second time today.  Next haircuts!!  They are now set. So we are back at the apartment and are so thankful. Thank you for all of the prayers!! God answered them!  Heading back to the Embassy tomorrow for visas. Flying home Friday if all goes well. Please continue to pray, it would seem that I REALLY still need it!

Thank you!!

Psalm 72:12-14 For He will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in His sight.

Praying for an uneventful day with the visas!!

Passports!!

So thankful for today! We finally were able to pick up the kids new passports! Yeah! God's timing is amazing. We were going to have to be out of our apartment at noon, which would mean we would have had to wait outside for 5 hours for our train. But our friends from NY are coming and moving into our apartment so they told us to stay and wait for them. SOOOO thankful to be able to hang in the apartment. Plus, we are hoping to see our friends before our 14 hour train ride! (prayers appreciated)

Praising God for His faithfulness in this journey!!

Some pictures of our apartment:


Chef Dylan!



Our wonderful translator!

Passport Day!

Passport day is finally here! I think we will have to leave the apartment early.  We'll have extra time before our appointment at the embassy.

I'll post pics when I can!!

Packing

They say the passports will be ready tomorrow!!!
WOOOHHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
I'm already packing for our next town - Kiev!
Thank you most of all for praying. Please don't stop!

The plan is: U.S. Embassy Wednesday and Thursday, then we will fly HOME on Friday!!

For Keith

I am so thankful for Keith and all that he is doing to get ready for us to come HOME!! He is such a great guy. :)  A big THANK YOU to all of those that are helping him too.  We have had friends come over and paint, and we're rearranging the rooms so that everyone can be happy!!  So thankful for him & for all the work being done.

I just wanted to post some pictures for Keith - a tribute to the electrical challenges we have seen in Ukraine. Enjoy. :)

Friends

Had a wonderful time visiting with my friend Beth and her son Vlad! They are one week behind us in this journey.  Thankful to have a friend to spend time with here.  It helps the time go by faster!  It is also so much better than sitting around watching the TV show that's like Roseanne, but with Ukranian actors!! hahaha

We should be in Kiev next Wednesday and Thursday, then fly home on Friday!  We will be doing embassy stuff on Wednesday & Thursday.  I'm so thankful to be able to stay at Hospitality House in Kiev.

Here are a couple of pictures of Simferopol:

Blessings

Luke 12:48B
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.


These verses have really hit home after being here! Every single person in America has been given much.

I'm thankful that we got the last cabin on the train available for next Tuesday night.  Also, God has provided a place for us to stay in Kiev for free! There is a woman that has opened her home to people just like us that need a place to stay while processing paperwork for adoptions.  It will be nice to speak to her in English. :)

Praising God for his concern for the details and the many special blessings that he provides.

Papers submitted!

Update: Well, Dylan and the translator didn't get back until 2:30.  It took them longer than they thought. We submitted 20 plus pieces of paper.  We took 2 trips to the bank to pay fees.  With 40 minutes to spare before the bank closed we got everything in.  NOW we wait another week in hopes that their new passports come back next Tuesday. Dylan and the translator do have to go back to the other town again on Friday.  Round trip it is 7+ hours!  It is crazy here.  There is so much waiting and so many fees. 

Thank you so much for praying! I am SOOOOO thankful it got submitted. Just a little closer to home!  We hope to fly back next Friday the 21st!! A lot has to fall in place by then, but that is my goal.

Sons from afar

Isaiah 43:5-7
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, "Give them up!" and to the south, "Do not hold them back." Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth - everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

Loving technology

It is amazing what a small world we live in. I am sitting here in Ukraine talking to Social workers back in Pennsylvania, registering kids for school, and talking to CHOP Adopt!!

Amazed and thankful for technology and of course the internet! It is such a lifeline knowing that everyone is praying for us. Everytime I read your notes I feel your support and love.

Thank you!

Coffee needed

I never thought a cup of instant coffee could taste so good!

We just found out that Dylan and our interpreter need to go back to the town that we just came from to get a stamp put on his paperwork (they just left.) They have an appointment at 8:15 tomorrow. They need to come right back so that we can submit everything tomorrow afternoon. Please pray that all of this is possible because they only accept paperwork on Tuesdays. If we miss it we would have to submit everything the next week. Thank you all for your prayers. Never a dull moment in Ukraine! Just more paperwork. haha

Roman and I are watching the "Jesus" movie in English. Pray that God's truth will touch his heart.

Water!

Well - the water is back after being off for almost 24 hours! YAY
I took advantage and got a shower right away. Just in case.

Please pray that I find my address book.  Somehow I lost it. 

I am just still so thankful for hot water and a flushing toilet! Bathrooms are a whole different story here in Ukraine.  Let's just leave it at that.

Mourning the loss of water

PEACE
It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work.
It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
---author unkown

Well - I am struggling to find PEACE in the fact that we have no water in the apartment! haha  I am so glad that I took a shower yesterday.  Just add WATER to the list of the many things we take for granted in America!

Dylan

Dylan is cooking!!  What a blessing!  It was delicious. :)

Apartment

We went to several places today and requested several documents. We were pretty successful. Tomorrow we will run around and do the same. We are glad to just be back at the apartment to chill. It is 4 in the afternoon and I just want to go to bed! I believe jet lag and a very busy week are catching up to me. Thank you all for praying! Things are going well.  I'll attach some pics of our apartment here in Simferopol.