Sweet Home Sweet

We have been home since Feb.5th and all is well. Maryna is in the middle of her 3rd week of school. She is doing great, I can tell her teachers really enjoy her too. They have installed Rosetta Stone in all her class's and have the children learning Ukraine. They have been wonderful to her, she really likes school.

She is speaking English very clearly and adds new words daily. We bought her a bicycle and also a hamster, filled her closet with clothes and now she is taking the world by storm and loving every minute of it. She laughs giggles, and . teases allot! Steve is amazing with her, I am just in awe of their relationship. We just crack up when she tries to pronounce new words it priceless. She has a personality that will not quit until her goal is accomplished. She is an amazing artist too, if Ukraine had any idea of what an outstanding young lady she is they would have never released her.

Maryna loves Policeman and Dog the bounty hunter.( Bad Boys Bad Boys what ya gonna do,what ya gonna do when they come for you ) is her favorite song . Today she had Steve write the words down and then she practiced singing it! She thinks animals of all shapes and sizes are beautiful, including lizards. We are just having so much fun with her and feel very Blessed that God chose us to parent her. Thank You God!!!

Visa Day

Today it is Monday and we went to the American Embassy to apply for Marynas Visa. It went quickly only took two hours. Tomorrow return there again for interview and will actually get the Visa.

Steve stayed up all night and watched Super Bowl, He's a little tired and disappointed today. Maryna is adjusting very well. Very happy little girl smiles a bunch and likes to hide around corners and jump out. Reminds me of my Dad. Steve calls her his little carrot and she calls him Monkey. I can tell she is starting to trust us. I have been very careful to give her space and privacy as much as possible in a one bedroom apartment. We watch allot of Christian television I like the idea of her hearing the word so much. Its like the washing of the water of the word . Even though she doesn't understand English completely.

I bought her a book with English and Ukrainian words, pictures, phonetics it really helpful. She works on it allot between Nintendo DS lite rounds. She likes to say BIG FINISH when she's mastered the game,little finish when not. I have learned she likes Tomato Juice,lemon Juice,strawberry yogart, choc cereal, and her first reaction to a hot dog was hilarious. We explained its not really a dog! I am having fun learning all these new particulars about her,its only the beginning.

Almost Finished

We are still in Kiev waiting on Marynas Passport to come. It is suppose to arrive today, that would mean a quick exit. After we have that in hand we can get her physical and Visa which only takes couple of days. We are all very anxious to get home.

As we wait we have been sight seeing. We went to the Monks Monastery which is gigantic and beautiful. It is like a city in its self. Hugh Cathedral's and museum like displays of articles from different centuries and clothing from 3 and 4 BC and AD. Caves and all kinds of antiques, crowns, jewels. Then we went to the museum of WW2 it was very awesome and interesting and sad. The coolest thing was this statue of a woman no one thought was a big deal but me I thought it was the best of all. Our tour was 6 hours of walking nonstop, so today we rest.

We are enjoying our new addition to our family, she is getting more comfortable with us, Steve is so good with her. She is happiest when we are just sitting around playing a game.

Your Honor

Our Judge was so sensitive to Maryna, very proper and thourough yet kind and gentle,tuned into her every reaction and emotions before, during and after court. All Judges should be so kind.

When the Judge ask my husband what Marynas name was he mistakenly said in Ukraine Maryna Carrot, so much for Steves attempt at speaking Ukraine. That became the running Joke that brought about laughter at the most intense court moments.

What a send off!

This is very note worthy, When Maryna left the Orphanage her friend Geena a 14 year old boy, walked her to the car and carried her luggage, put her in the car and shook her hand. Then ran along the side of the car until he ran out of road. He then ran throught fields dived head first over brush, jumped fences and finally stood with his arms wide open as to say I have done all I can. It was straight out of romance novel, Maryna was stunned. What a guy, What a send off.

Mission Accomplished

We are now in Kiev at the wonderful apartment we started in, after yesterdays 9 hour car ride to finish all the necessary paper work. Then a party at our host house, followed by a 6 hour train ride. WHEW!

Now we will need passport,physical and visa, so the rest our time will be spent in Kiev. I hope to show Maryna all the wonderful sights in her country, there are amazing monuments all around kiev.

Thank you for all your prayers it is truely a miracle that we would be this far this fast. Maryna is an amazing girl, I cant wait to see her flourish in America. Our facilitators were amazing, Our drivers the best, Even though the trip was hard we were surrounded with the best. God has been so wonderful to us,we are so grateful, He is a Good Good GOD!

Its a Girl !!!

We have her she all ours!! Today court ,the Judge was amazing we had much favor with the courts. Tomorrow we are off to her home town for birth certificate and then kiev to finish up.

We are extremely happy and I dont want to spend much time typing because I need to go play with my new daughter.Bye for now.....new Mama and Papa and daughter.

TRIP 2

We arrived Mon.20th had a great flight but hectic arrival,no facilitator or interpeter. Taxi driver we knew from before but no place to go . Our train didnt leave until 5:45pm it was 11 am when we arrived. Facilitator wanted us to hang around a cafe all day and wait. We were tired and jet lagged, I just want to lay down after 20 hours of travel. We insisted on hotel room where we could buy minutes for phone and computer. We ate and rested very little and off we went to 6 hr train ride. Very nice train, private car but no beds. After another hour car ride we arrived in Kochetok about 1am.

We walked down to the school and surprised our Maryna. She looked so happy to see us. This was what we have been waiting for !! She visited with us all day, I'll be so glad when we can just keep her. Our Court date is Thursday so it wont be long. We played together all day, she is just a doll. She told us she is ready to go. We are all extremely happy!!

Sky High flights

Its Jan. 3rd and we are shopping for flights again. It ended up costing an extra $1600 to come home early just for flight upgrades. Expedia has deals that look good but it seems impossible to get Maryna on a flight with us one way home without it costing $2400. Round trip for Steve and I discounted tickets at $730 EA, but by the time we buy her ticket all the savings is gone. I am going to check with my travel agent and trust that now the holidays are over she will be able to get us a better deal.

Its good to be home and the holidays were a blur. My granddaughter could not get enough of my attention when we came home and to tell you the truth I could not get enough of her. I am excited about going back, but dreading the long haul to Kharkov. I am excited about finishing this all up and whisking her away into a new life of freedom. Roller Coaster here we come. Maybe I'll get lucky again and get stranded in hum mm I don't know maybe PARIS,ROME. I'll leave that up to God, I'm sure he has more surprises just waiting for us!

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.