New York New York

After eight days in a desolate region and 10 hour train ride followed by an hour car ride followed by a 10 hour plane ride we found our selves strained in New York. Our plane circled JFK for 45 minutes, taxied down the runway what seemed like another 30 minutes. We ran through the terminal with only minutes to spare waited on luggage and ran to another terminal across the highway down an icy slope pulling my luggage out of breath hoping to get home. We found our flight that we were already late for but hoping it would be late too was CANCELED!!! Stood in line with the other hundreds of people who's flights were canceled for 3 hours. Tired ,stressed, wore out completely and the line didn't move for 2 hours. 650 flights were canceled that night.

Thank God for my daughter Tiffany who was truly amazing, she was on the cell with me on the computer with the airlines on the phone with the hotels, Before long we had a great hotel room at the Majestic Hilton downtown Manhattan over looking ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty. The only thing available,Thank you GOD!

We went from pure hell to pure Heaven, 50Th floor over looking New York at Christmas,with no where to go until Monday. It was like a dream. We shopped, walked, took in the sights I loved it.Its nothing we could ever really afford but we had no choice,there was no trains,planes or automobiles available for 3 days. So we just embraced it all and rested and enjoyed being back in America.

We will return to Ukraine about the 19Th of January to bring our daughter home. Hopefully that trip will only be about 2 weeks. It was a very long hard trip with allot of ups and downs ,We will need to rest to take it on again.

I learned allot, was challenged physically, spiritually. I really enjoyed the fashions in Europe, and was surprised with New York's . We were stretched to the max and then rewarded to the max. We were so blessed in the midst of chaos , no matter what the situation God made sure we were comfortable with first class accommodations whether plane or hotel it was always the only option left . A year ago a prophet of God spoke over us and said God was going to cause us to travel and had lots of surprises for us, Boy did He!! Bye for now, we will resume when we return to Europe at the end of January, We will see what other surprises God has for us.

This roller coaster is a rough ride

We had no court today after all. All the court dates are now scheduled after JAN 7th. So we are coming home without our girl and will return in 3 weeks to finish up. We did get half way through the process. When we come back we will just need to go to Court and wait 10 days and finish up minimal paperwork. We are sad but still trust in Gods perfect timing. My Maryna cried her eyes out , we explained the best we could. She put on her brave face as I am sure she has had to do for six years. It is ripping our hearts out to leave her, I don't know what else to say but I know My God is good and greatly to be praised and we trust him with all our hearts our minds and everything that's within us , we will sing to the Lord praises and worship his Holy name forever and ever on the mountaintops or in the valley. AMEN

Today we have color

Today the sky is blue and it is snowing. We received a call from our facilitator to stand by for court today so we are holding our breath waiting for the call to go. We expect favor galore today. God is for us and not against us. We are the highly favored heirs of Christ. Walking in extreme favor and the peace that only Christ can give. Thank You for your prayers. Keep praying that everything moves fast . We require unprecedented favor with the judge and village today. We need our Facilitator to move swiftly .

Steve told me yesterday that when he went to pick up our daughter she ask him if it was time to get her clothes. She is as anxious as we are. I told my daughter what her new middle name will be . We explained the meaning to her and she seemed happy. Her new middle name is Karis (meaning Grace) named after my best friend Kari and my grandma Carrie thus comes Karis. Isn't that perfect,double the grace. bye for now we will update after court.

Just a thought

You know Steve and I have often prayed God what is it you want us to do? I believe this is that, to see this little girl, I know she is ours. She is so precious and she has been here for 6 1/2 years waiting for us. I cant wait to take her home and be the Mother she deserves. To see her and Steve together is a delight. She just loves him so much. She is very considerate to give us both equal attention too.

God is so good, I can wake up at anytime and low and behold my sister Nancy has woke up half the way around the globe and ready to talk with me,Thats God!! Thanks Nancy you have been so comforting. My daughter Tif is so attentive too. She calls everyday and just handles all my little emergencys.

This is not easy here, I cant wait to get home. We are racing against deadlines of holiday closures. It will be extremely hard to come home without her and then return in 3 weeks.
I pray that is not the case. We need favor with God and favor with man.That is our pray tonite!

Update 12/16 7pm

We recieved a call tonite that our facilitator will arrive in region tomorrow and try to get us a court date,maybe even tomorrow, Thanks for your prayers,God is good!!

che katy wait wait wait wait

Today is Tues 16th yesterday was Steves Birthday, it was a very hard day for both of us . We feel alittle abandoned here no calls from facilitators since Friday,we finally called yesterday and were told Today is the last day courts are open here in the village ,We might have a court date tonight at five?

We just came back from little store about 3/4 mile away to get water, when we bought some the other day we didnt know it was carbonated. I now know the true meaning of speak softly and carry a BIG stick. Lots O Dogs, running wild ,not my cup of tea. This morning we were served fish for breakfast, Steve ate I did not.

The bright spot here is we get to bring Maryna here each night for four hours. Last night she brought her drawings, she is an amazing artist. She also does embroidery and loves ninetendo game we gave her. We also recieved a great video from Tiffany and Jammie singing bday song and frosty the snowman. Its was very nice, Thank you. Bye for now Ang & Steve

We are not in Kansas anymore!!

We have been without internet since Tues 9th since then we were moved from our great apartment in downtown Kiev to a 4th floor no elevator w/lots luggage over a strip club type apartment for just about 6 hours while we wait for our night train that leaves at 10pm, the Train was a newer train with sleeper cab,none of us slept. We were assigned a new facilitator for traveling , she is great, very efficent go getter. We were picked up in our new region and driven around for about a day doing paper work and signing documents. Then finally we reached the school and talked w/the director briefly and all of a sudden in burst our new daughter who threw her arms around Steve and held on. We were all crying and were so EXCITED!! I wasnt at all sure we were even at the school since no one spoke English and it looked very much like a goverment building. We were allowed to visit for couple of hours as different people peeked around corners to see how we were doing. Everyone was very nice and we met our daughters sister who is just a doll ,she has a family of her own that she has lived with for six years.

We were taken to a little house down a long dark road with allot of dogs to stay for a very reasonable price the owner is a littler old Ukrainian sweet heart who cooks up a storm for us. Her house is emaculate, our bed is warm and comfy. The terrain is very rough and gray,coooold!! We walk this long dark road every night to take our daughter back to school,at first it was scarey but now it seems the norm everyone walks in the pitch dark. There is only one street light and it is in front of the house we stay at. The owner is remarkably similiar to my own Babushka (grandma) we just love her. We pray for court date for Monday,that is the miracle we need please pray bye for now Ang & Steve.

Feeling the Ukrainian vibe

Saturaday we ventured out farther ate at tgi Fridays and back in by dusk,Sunday we stayed in all day rested and watched old westerns ALL DAY. It was great.

Today we shopped designer shops bought boots and dress cloths wandered the city street and was amazed at the beauty of this place it is magnificent! Huge hi-rise and old cathedrals great restaurants such sight to see I feel like Im in Greece,its truely wonderful. The snow fell lightly and the temperature seemed not to cold but it looked like a light blizzard it was glorious!!

We are feeling so blessed the best apartment , cars , food, you name it, I never thought kiev would be so great. We found a Ukrainian restuarant down the block and had a very good meal then walked home in the snow still amazed at whats around us.

They found our luggage and it is coming from New York, hope it makes it here by tomorrow night when we leave on the train for Kharkov region. I am wondering if it could get any better than this? Guess we will find out tomorrow. We have to move to another apartment just for a day until our train leaves tomorrow at 10pm. There may not be any internet there, so if I dont post for a while that may be the reason. Heres hoping technology follows us where ever we go!
Kharkov Region to Kochetok village here we come. Bye for now.

Tuesday we travel

We will take a train by night to Kharkov then a taxi to Kochetok, we leave Tuesday night and arrive Wednesday morning. Here we will see our newest daughter there and wait to go to court. Pray everything is swift . Easy in and Easy out. My friend said she had a dream we had springs on our feet,skipping steps. I agree.

SDA TODAY

Sda today and all went great the psycologist said she thinks we need to get OUR GIRL AND GO!!
We found a TGI Fridays down the block ummm American food. Was going to shop but still to wiped out from travel and time change so nap it is.
Still no luggage but I managed a ukrainian look with my snow boots and black fur collar,to bad the weather was like 54 F . I think we packed for Siberia !#?

P.S. I saw her five year old picture and just lost it OMG,I wish I had her back then.

Bye for now Ang

Trains,planes and Automobiles

We finally made it after 20 hours of travel. The plane from St.Louis to New York was like a volkswagon. Smallest plane Ive ever been on. The flight to Ukraine was long and a lttle scarey but the plane was comfortable. There was allot of Jewish people going home.

Guess who's luggage with all the good stuff in it (everything I own and need was LOST!!!) Im currently sporting around in the latest mens thermal shirt. Lucky for me there is an unbelievable Mall right under the block we are staying on. Darnit guess I have to go shopping. By the way fashions here are OOH LALA!! Knee high black boots and furry collars and lots of leather.

Our apartment here is great, Jacuzzi,big screen TV, right on the main square. We went for a walk around the block but I was still out of it so we will try again tomorrow. We will go to the SDA appointment tomorrow, so bye for now.

We have a date to Travel, December 2nd SDA appointment December 5th and court appointment December 22nd. Finally!!

Marynas Karis stayed with us for five weeks this summer, We had an awesome time,did everything you could possibly do. When the time came for her to go back to the orphanage we were all very sad. As we left the house she said goodbye to everything her room,bike,couch, everything. So through our tears we decided no goodbyes just(I'LL BE RIGHT BACK) which is what I would say if I had to leave her with Grandma at anytime. We used that phrase so many times on our trip to the airport. It became a life preserver.

We had to drive four hours to the airport. I had packed some Scooby Doo snacks for her lay over in New York, enough to share with the other five children. At some point I turned around in the car to see a 12 year old finish off almost the whole box. I had to pry the box out of her hands! She loved the stuff, talk about sugar buzz!

This all started in October 2007 when we were attending our local Church. Before Worship even started I told my husband God must be up to something today I feel so weepy. I had previously attended some conferences back to back where I was asking God to show me His heart. I had no Idea what I was in for!

Worship began and I just seemed to get more emotional. Almost like a pregnant woman,but at the time I didn't know it was the emotional roller coaster of adoption just taking off. After Worship a young lady spoke briefly about Orphans and although I thought it was incredibly sad I didn't know how I fit in. It just made me weep more (literally I was a mess).

After service My Husband and I helped pass out fliers about these Orphans to the congregation for hosting children during Christmas. Because we were helping, a woman mistakenly thought we were part of this ministry. She ask if I would take her most generous offer up to the booth. She was paying for the passage of two Orphans to come to America for Christmas.

So I took her offer to the booth advised them of her generosity and my mouth said and I'll take one . The Lady at the booth said OK, I said WAIT!!!! I SHOULD ASK MY HUSBAND.
On the way home I tryd to read the brochure to him but could not stop crying. I continued like this for three days. I felt the power of God so strong I knew this was not just going to be a three week Christmas hosting. Indeed God was up to something.

Our first fund raiser was a multi-family yard sale. We were blessed with allot of treasures from friends and family. Everyone worked hard and long hours. At the end of it all we had $1200.Thank you Lord! Theresa G you were a blessing!!

Our second attempt was a Trivia night and it was also a great success thanks to my good friend Kari and allot of generous people from our Church and the Community.We raised $3,200

Fundraising can be a full time job and its easier for me to do that for others than it is for myself some how it seemed difficult.

We are still not completely there yet but were blessed with very generous donations that I am so greatful for.