Perfect day

If yesterday was horrible, today was perfect. Polar opposites! The sun was shining, my throat wasn't hurting, I felt great! I got up early and got ready for the day. Niko picked me up before 8am and we went to get Sherry and Keegan (p.s. people besides Niko DO wake up before 9am, but only after court) :) we went to the embassy early. Sherry's appointment was at 9:30 and mine was at 10:00 but we didn't have to wait. We were both in and out by 9:35! And we met Vera and her parents! We all got in Niko's van because the Evans' were on their way to Vera's medical appointment, and we had to stop by the SDA first. There, we had a wonderful little reunion, but Eugene and Yulia escaped these pictures.







My Ukrainian body guards and two of the best men in Kiev. Serge and Niko. I've grown to love these men and will miss them dearly.






The boys with Sherry and Keegan.






Serge with Jon, Amy, and Vera; isn't she cute?!






Part of the Berizka gang.

After our pow-wow, the Whites and I ate lunch at Cafe de Paris (remember that great French cafe I blogged about on my anniversary? Well I got to go back!) then we finished souvenir shopping - really this time. Although I forgot some things again.






Weird random picture... Drugs are illegal here.

Then Niko took us to close the kids' bank accounts. As we handed the money to Dr. Sasha, we had a wonderful conversation with him about the kids and the things the money will be used for and how it's audited. Sherry said it best when she said, "Our pleasure. We wish we could do more." These kids are in a great orphanage but need so much! Most of all families! We told him FOUR families are coming to Berizka later this year because of Reece's Rainbow, and we will be there to help cheer them on and let them know what to expect. We love the director! And I don't have a photo to share since they're on the laptop at home. I'll try to get one tomorrow.

On the way home, we met the St. Claire's briefly and their beauty, Lily. Then we had dinner with Joel and Rachel at Il Patio, finally!! The restaurant has been calling out to me for weeks :) it was pretty good too. Darn it if I didn't get pictures with them. There's a decent chance I may go home Saturday, so if they aren't there tomorrow morning for the gotcha moment, that may have been our goodbye. Well this one will have to do for now. I love my new friends.






I booked my flight home for Saturday. We aren't telling the girls yet because there is a chance any one thing may fall through tomorrow. It's going to be the busiest day yet. Gotcha day, here we come! New blog post tomorrow to confirm!




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Passport office, take 2

I could make this long or short. The short version is it took 7 hours to get a passport picture, but we got it done! Thank you, Heavenly Father and Niko!

















He did it! He finally fell asleep on me. This was a proud mommy moment.

The long version:
I still felt pretty bad this morning. My throat hurts, my ears hurt, but I was up and ready to go. The flu is over, so that's good. We were told Niko was picking us (me and Sherry White) up at 8am. she called me a little before then to say Niko had a "paper job" for us - that's what he calls them, so cute- and he wanted us to meet him at the orphanage right away. I crumbled. It took everything in me to get up let alone try to walk anywhere. Sherry was genius and suggested a cab... Why didn't I think of that? Oh yeah cuz my brain is mush after sleeping for 36 hours.

So we called Yulia to call us a cab because nobody speaks English, and she said they'd be here in 5-10 minutes. They are usually early, but this guy took forever. We didn't get to the orphanage until 9:30, but in his defense it was raining, we got caught in the middle of the biggest traffic jam I ever saw, and we passed two car accidents. I was glad to be running late and not in one of those!

Anyway our appointment was at 9:00, so we were late. Not a big deal since everyone takes their sweet time around here anyway. We corralled up the kids and headed over for a "20 minute" appointment. HA!

Let me remind you we tried all this on Saturday and she didn't want to do her job. Today she told Niko she needed to see some papers from our dossier...and FLIP if I didn't leave my copy at home today. It wouldn't have mattered because Sherry didn't bring hers at all. And neither of us even thought of that until tonight, lol. So we had to go to the SDA to get our LOO's. I think that took 2 hours. I got to finish souvenir shopping while I waited. Note to others: bring a copy of your dossier with you and carry it at all times!

Then we went to the notary for something else and Niko had to copy the page of our passports with the stamp of when we got in country. Keegan, Micah, and I jumped out and grabbed some McDonald's while we were waiting. My boy ate a whole fish sandwich!!! Big eater. My girls never eat that much.



Then Yulia brought another paper to Niko all cognito in the rain like an undercover agent and finally we were on our way. We got back to the passport office at 2pm.

Let me explain Kiev is split by the Dnipro river. There are many bridges to cross it. We live on the right bank, where the center, embassy, and SDA are. The orphanage, court, and passport offices are on the left bank. In traffic this could take a long time!

Okay so we got back at 2pm. Niko went in again. Please God let this be the last time. He came back out, told us we had to pay more money. What?! It was $300 to rush the passport and we paid that on Saturday. We had to pay another 525 grivna today (about $66) to process it at all. And we are finding this out now? Grr, can't they just tell this poor man everything at once? Are we the first adopting families to come through here? We found out that this office is the hardest to deal with in all the regions and changes requirements all the time. Sherry said it wasn't exactly like this last year.

So we got the kids out, went in and paid the cashier, went to the other side to get the kids scanned, and waited. ANOTHER HOUR! Oh my heck.

Let me insert that our kids all did great! For the torture that lady put them through, they deserve medals of honor. 7 hours waiting, give me a break.

Finally this nice woman comes and tells us to go upstairs. We follow. She spoke English! "Please White on the left and Ray on the right." We go into the camera ladies cubicles, and they set up. I get the rude one who took umpteen bad pictures when Micah wasn't ready, clearly not a real photographer. Finally she got a decent one and asked if it was okay. Really? Do you think I really care? I'm going to use this thing once to get him home! Yes it's fine!

I'm so glad my sweet husband isn't here. He's really more impatient than I am especially with people who don't care, and I think he would've snapped days ago. Please forgive my outright honesty here, but people should be prepared to wait and deal with laziness. It's the culture in the government offices.

I later found out that the system accepted our passports...everything is fine and we should be able to pick them up Friday morning. Yulia was so happy to tell me the passports weren't rejected... Wow I didn't know that was an option. :/

Oh yeah, and the nice woman is the one Niko has been dealing with for two days! Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Tomorrow: 1st embassy appointment at 10am and closing Micah's bank account at 1pm. No kids, thank goodness for them.

Friday: Busting Micah out for good, and God-willing getting the passport in the morning, then going to the medical appointment, then the final exit interview with the embassy. PRAY PEOPLE, PRAY!

*If* Friday goes as planned, we will be able to come home on Saturday. I hesitate to write that because it wasn't a possibility a few days ago, but it is now. Our facilitation team is making it happen, and are saying it will work. They are truly amazing! We are in the best hands. Even if the government employees don't care about these orphans-no-more, our team does. I'm still waiting to book my flight. I love our team but there is a lot out of their control. If God wants me home Saturday, I'll be home.








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Differences

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

America: no smoking in restaurants (at least in California).
Ukraine: smoking everywhere and everyone smokes!

America: people dress somewhat fashionably, but mostly for comfort, and for the most part pretty modestly
Ukraine: women are in toe-pinching high heels, short tight dresses, and their girls are hanging out. Men look like they came straight out of a Miami vice re-run, and pointy white shoes are in.

America: PDA (public display of affection) is rare and generally not tolerated
Ukraine: O.M.G.!!!!!! I saw a man with his hands up a girls shirt on the metro escalator yesterday. That is just one example of this lust-centered culture. Yuck.

America: Depending on the city, most people are friendly. They will smile, hold the door for you, say "hi", or the like. They usually have decent manners. I've seen the opposite, mostly in big cities. I've also seen road rage and people getting cussed out, flipped off, or in fist fights. I've seen coldness from many people in America, but generally most have a warmness about them.
Ukraine: In Kiev, there are more than 3 million people. It's a huge population crammed into a relatively small space. People get where they are going and get there fast. They don't have time to be friendly or hold the door for you. They don't have the will to smile because that would require eye contact, which takes more time! I think they are so engrained into their daily lives they don't think of others. They crowd and push. BUT, I have seen kindness here. Two women at different times offered to help when they saw we needed it (one time for translation, and another to figure out the metro signs). The waiters/waitresses I've encountered have been friendly and service-oriented. The street vendors also have been pleasant the majority of the time. I really think the rudeness here is not out of character for the demographics. You get the same in NYC and San Francisco!

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LIVING QUARTERS

Ukraine: In Kiev, people live in apartment buildings. Think of Harlem, NY and you'll have a pretty good idea of what most of the buildings look like. Once inside, they are decently decorated and modestly furnished for your needs. Most apts do not have a/c, and a washing machine is a luxury. There are no clothes dryers in the country, so everything is hang dried. Beds are not ornate and are set low to the ground with a very thin "bunker" type mattress. They have square pillows and cases. No fitted bottom sheet... Just one flat sheet lying on the mattress that barely covers it and moves when you do. And usually another duvet-style top sheet.

One of our apartments (I've now lived in 5) was gigantic. It had to be at least 1200-1400 sq ft. It had 2 huge bedrooms, and 1 1/2 bathrooms. We had ice-cold a/c in the large living room, a washing machine, wifi internet - We were seriously living in the life of luxury, and the building was new - only 70 years old. It had a nice elevator too. I am NOT exaggerating or being sarcastic at all. It was nice!

The first "one night only" apartment was just weird and gross.

The 2nd apartment was very nice for a couple and maybe one child... Our favorite by far with it's quaintness and location, balcony, large shower/tub and cute kitchen, but there was no a/c and it got really hot. Still I loved that apartment, with the broken bed and falling apart couch and all. The stairwell was so smoky though, like you were in a bar.

The third one was the big one I talked about and would have been a mansion for a family. That is probably what we'd have to live in with all 5 kids! It was so nice, but to get nice and new we had to be on the outskirts of town just a bit. You can't have it all. It was a 15 min bus ride to the metro stop, then another 45 min to the orphanage (including a 10 min walk).

The fourth one was small but adequate for our needs. One bedroom, one small living room, and a tiny kitchen with a small bathroom. It was only two metro stops to the orphanage and I liked it a lot, but it was overpriced and the landlord kept bothering us to show it. And the smells in that building were atrocious - cat pee or days worth of garbage, and the elevator was very scary. Then I went home for 10 days.

Now, I'm by myself in a cute studio apt on the 4th floor of a building with no elevator - 69 steps up and 69 steps down. Good exercise, but would not have worked with Annie or all our stuff we had to haul. There are no smells here! I have a/c, wifi, and a washer. There is a shower curtain on the bathtub stall. There is no oven though, go figure and so weird. The bed is intact and it's bright and airy and cozy. If Barry and I ever come back here without kids, this would be the place I'd pick to stay. What? You can cook a frozen pizza in the microwave :) And it's only another 57 stairs down and around the corner from the closest metro - very convenient!

America:
Home. Need I say more? A house with a yard and a driveway. Space. 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms for a family of seven. 2200 sq feet is gigantic!

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TRANSPORTATION

Ukraine: Walk, walk, and walk some more :) The public transportation is bus, trolley, or metro. Very cheap and easy to use, but at times you feel like you're packed in like sardines, and sometimes the B.O. is so bad you want to puke, which someone did and left a stench in one of the metro cars we later rode once. There are cars here, and even the occasional Suburban, truck, or minivan, but mostly small cars. I've heard you have to be rich to own one. And honestly I wouldn't want to drive here anyway. I am amazed at how close cars can get to each other and not hit... On streets, sidewalks, and parking lots. It's really quite impressive.

America: I know we have public transportation in big cities, but for me in my bubble, I like to have my big Suburban that fits my kids comfortably. And we have two vehicles in our family which is a luxury. Gas prices are horrendous, but it is very convenient to have an automobile. I am very spoiled. Our wallets will miss the $12 monthly metro pass though.

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FOOD

Ukraine: Markets. Some small, some large, some outrageously expensive. You have to weigh your produce and get a sticker before the checkout or someone will come and take your lemons and do it for you while cursing you in Russian. You have to pay for you grocery bags or you'll get cursed out in Russian. How many times did I get cursed at? I don't know!

Also, no peanut butter, ranch, or the usual creamy sauces we have, and no tortillas. They have mayonnaise and lots of varieties of bread, and Nutella. Most of the food has no preservatives and is quite healthy.

When you go out, portions are small and there are no free refills of anything. The drink glasses are small unless you get a beer, then they are huge. At McDonald's if you ask for a large "cola" they look at you like you came off a space ship. Ice is an anomaly unless you are American. Cold drinks are hard to come by, unless it's a beer. People love to drink here... I've seen people drinking at 10am! Diet coke is "coke light" and coke is "cola".

America: Grocery stores. Well you know!

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LANGUAGE

Ukraine: Russian is most common, but a lot of Ukrainian too in Kiev. Very few people speak even a little English, but there is a lot of using of the hands/gestures to communicate and we get by :) I also heard some visitors speaking English from France and Germany!

America: we are a melting pot and there is not one National language, but I'd guess 90% of the population, if not more, speaks English of some sort.

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DOGS

Ukraine: There are strays everywhere! They keep to themselves, but they are like homeless people on skid row.... All over the place! Friendly too.

America: Dogs are common pets and are put in shelters if found stray. Strays can be dangerous in both places, but more so in America I think.

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GOVERNMENT OFFICES

See my post titled "passport office" and you'll get the idea.


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Public, private, public

I know, I know, make up my mind. After posting Micah's new birth certificate, I got a little protective. I have never posted my other kids' documents, so why start now? So instead of alienating everyone, I just took it off and went back to public. Sorry!

Passport office

Micah did so great on the ride today. He was really curious about the car and intrigued when it was moving. I wonder how long he'll stay that occupied on the plane :)

I fell in love with him even more today. Being with him outside the orphanage gave me a glimpse of what life will really be like, and it was great!

Of course we had a lot of waiting to do once we got there. I really don't understand how a whole society can get away with not doing their jobs efficiently. But Niko took our money inside and came back about an hour or so later saying the kids' pictures would be taken after their lunch break. We got back at 2:30pm and he came back saying the lady wants us to come back to do pictures on Wednesday. We paid to expedite the passports, but there are holidays on Monday and Tuesday and today was a short day, so doing the photos Wednesday is not going to make the process take any longer than if she did them today. So why wait? Basically, she didn't want to do her job.The mentality here is exhausting. Niko tried to reason with her saying we were already there with the kids but she wouldn't budge. Oh, if we were only in America!

So I had a great day with the little man, and I get to do it all again on Wednesday morning. According to the passport employee, it takes three days to expedite a passport. I don't know if that means I can pick it up next Friday or the following Monday, July 4. Even if we had pictures done today I'd still have to wait as long.

Either way, it will take the 5th and 6th to get the visa process done at the embassy, so we'll be coming home July 7, and not earlier like I had hoped. Oh well... It is what it is and that's the realistic timeframe I set anyway.
It just frustrates me that not one government employee wants to be helpful or go out of their way for anyone. It's worse than a California DMV!

You would really think it is still a communist country where the gov't takes care of you no matter what, instead of a new society where working hard can pay off, not only for self worth, but because it's the right way to be to others! So glad I was raised by hard-working parents who instilled a work ethic into me.

I'm only sorry got Barry's hopes up like mine were. We all wanted me to come home before the 4th... Soon enough, soon enough.

First car ride

Today was the day I got to go on my first car ride as a big boy.

When I saw my mama, I had to show her I remembered the sign for mama, even if I use my index finger instead of my thumb.








I know how to sign for Daddy too. I miss him so much and wish he was here to watch me ride in a car today.


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There was quite the commotion getting ready with my friends to go to the passport office. Sweaters, cups, pictures.... Almost like our own movie!















I kept wanting to run everywhere, but I'd always be sure to come back to my mommy.












She put a monkey on my back, and I really didn't mind it too much except it kept me from running too far. Dr. Pasha thought it was fantastic and kept saying "Super!" to Mommy like she was the smartest person in the world. I think so too.






















Then my mommy took off the sandals I wear at the orphanage that are so tight on my feet and put on some new shoes. They felt so much better and I could wiggle my toes. I told you she was smart.



















I finally figured out how to use a sippy cup without spilling or spitting! I learned that you can't blow on it, you actually have to suck on the spout to make water come out. Mommy said I'm such a big boy and am learning new things every day.

After a while, Niko came and picked us up in his "machina".

When mommy opened the door, I was surprised. I had never seen anything like it before. I took a long time looking around at everything.

























Oh I learned how to pucker for a kiss today without spitting too!

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I love my mommy so much. She makes me feel safe, and I am so happy to finally have her here with me in my life. When the car started moving, I didn't really know what was happening. I wasn't too scared, but I liked having Mommy hold me.






Then I started to fall asleep.







Then we got to the passport office and I woke right back up!


P.S. THANK YOU, KEEGAN, FOR TAKING PICTURES AND VIDEOS!

Teenagers

No, this is not a post to complain. I actually miss mine quite a bit and really wish he was here with me. It would be so fun to experience Kiev with him and spend good, quality time. Fischer is such a good young man, and I'm so proud he's my son.

What I wanted to write about is Sherry White's son, Keegan. He is so lucky to be here with his mom. He's had to do a lot of sitting around and waiting with us the past couple days, and he's been a trooper. I don't think I've heard him complain once. In fact, he's been a lot of fun to have around. Although he's pretty quiet most of the time, we've had a few good laughs.

Like yesterday in McDonald's when we were passing time for hours, the men's bathroom was closed for about the 50th time for cleaning, and this man had to wash his hands. I guess it was urgent because when a lady came out, he went right in the women's bathroom without making sure it was clear (in fact Sherry was sitting in there on the pot!) Then another woman went in there. You should have seen her face. She saw him, backed up, looked at the door sign to verify it was for women, and all the people at the tables around us started BUSTING up laughing. She exchanged some words with him, and he explained he had to wash his hands (I can understand Russian quite well because people talk with their hands here). Keegan and I had a good laugh, then Sherry came out and we laughed even harder telling her the story.

Then today, we were at Western, a seemingly American restaurant with cowboy get-up all over the place, pop music playing, and a very skinny man waiter. He was kind but serious like most Ukrainians here, took our order, and a waitress handled the rest of our interactions. At one point, the waiter RAN out the back door on his cell laughing buoyantly and kind of almost dancing or hopping. Keegan and I looked at each other and started laughing. It was just so out of character for any local we've seen... He was happy, in Ukraine, and in a cowboy bar. Maybe you had to be there.

Oh but wait, this is the Chicken Caesar salads we all ordered... With ham... And it wasn't Caesar sauce. But it was still good.






And the man at the social security office... What's up with the going bald/shaved head with the tiny duck tail? Really? Tails are in here big time, but not on a going bald guy. Too much.

Anyway my point is that it's fun to have a teenager around, especially when he's polite and fun to be with. We're hoping to do some site-seeing and maybe even go ice skating when we're here. They have a free rink in the summer, hopefully not because it's melting in the heat. I am hoping the Golden's will be able to join us for some fun before we all go home. I can't believe this is all winding down so fast. I was told it would be like this, but I honestly didn't believe it.

Productive days

Yesterday (Thursday), our facilitator picked up our court decree after waiting literally ALL day for the court workers to give it to her. It was supposed to be ready on Wednesday according to the normal 10 day wait period, but people like to take their time doing their jobs here :) Hats off to Yulia for sitting all day on our behalf while I got to enjoy two more visits with my son. She also had time to submit a file to the vital statistics office for what I think she said was an application for Micah's new birth certificate, but I'm not sure... All I know is she did two major things yesterday. She was also doing the same thing for my friend, Sherry White, who is in the same stage in her process and at the same orphanage for Gavin and Johanna.

Yulia also said that she would call later to let us know when to be ready today to go pick up the new birth certificates for our kiddos. I went to bed at 10pm with no call, but I knew she'd call some time this morning. So I got up at 7, taking my time because nothing happens in this country before 9-10 am.

Except today. At 8:20, Yulia called and said to be downstairs in 5 minutes because Niko was there to pick me up. Yikes! I rushed down with sopping wet hair but with my teeth brushed :) We picked up Sherry and Keegan and were on our way. Niko informed us that today was going to be a big day. Yea!

We quickly got to the 1st vital statistics office and it was for Micah's birth certificate. Here is a picture of the office.











We had to turn in Micah's original birth certificate in order to request a new one. Here is his Ukrainian birth certificate:



This process was very long. We had to wait 2 hrs for the new certificate to be ready, so we went to another vital statistics office for Johanna White. Hers was processed while she waited, but it still took well over an hour, and Sherry said she even fell asleep! Keegan and I enjoyed ourselves in Niko's van playing games on our iPads :) Here are some pictures of the neighborhood.













There are different offices for each district of Kiev that process forms for where people are born, are married, or die - kind of like each county of California. All three of the children being adopted between us were born in different districts.

We got back to "my" office and had to go to a different room than before, and Niko and I had to wait again while the girl processed someone else first. When it was my turn, it turned out she hadn't even started my form! I was shocked. So she pulled up this database system on her computer and chose some items from the drop-down menus to get the right form up, put the court docket number in, and Micah's birth certificate came up.

This is where it got emotional for me. She highlighted his birth dad's name and DELETED it! Then she did the same for his mom's name. Then she changed his name to Micah Charles Ray and added the info for Barry and me into the parent fields. Wow. Totally surreal. His original info no longer exists in the computer. Then she had this big giant ledger book with a page with Micah's original info, and she crossed off the old info and hand wrote in the new. At least there is some remnant of his past there. They also kept the original sealed birth certificate. (I got a copy).

Then we finished up with Gavin White and had lunch while we waited. After all the birth certificates were completed, we went to the tax agency where they issue tax id's and social security numbers. We had to apply for new numbers with their new names so we can close out their government bank accounts here. The money goes to the orphanage, but the legal parent has to withdraw it. I wonder how much it will be!

We saw Yulia in the afternoon, and she said she was going to call the passport office to see if they're open tomorrow. I said, "Tomorrow? It's Saturday!" She said, "I know but since Monday is a holiday, they might be open tomorrow to trade." I was like, what?! I had no idea they did that here! We've been praying for a quick trip home, but I honestly didn't think any of this would move as fast as it has so far.

So, I called Yulia at 7pm and asked if the passport office is open tomorrow. She said so calmly, "Yes, it is open tomorrow." I exclaimed, "Really?!" This woman is the sweetest thing ever, but she does not joke. So tomorrow, Sherry and I will be able to take our kids OUT of the orphanage for the day and go on a car ride to the passport office where the kids will take pictures. I'm positive there will be some waiting involved. I'm taking my son out if the gates and into a car. I am so excited.

We still don't know what this means as far as when we can come home because Monday and Tuesday are holidays here. I am rushing the passport process for a nominal fee, but it's still supposed to take 2-3 days. I don't know if that means Wed or Thurs/Fri. If it's Wed, then I will be able to take Micah for his medical, bust him out for good, get his visa by Friday, which means I can bring him home next weekend, BEFORE the 4th, which is what Barry and I have been begging God for. Now I know it's possible, but I also know I still may have to wait. I'm really okay with either, but wouldn't it be so cool to celebrate Micah's coming home with fireworks?

Time to rest! (Remember that it's 10 hrs ahead of California).

Pictures!

Day 1 trip 2- part 2

Yeah so iPad isn't the most user-friendly thing in the world when it comes to typing, blogging, or uploading. I had to post what I was writing and continue on a new blog because it wouldn't let me curse down to the bottom. Arrow keys would be really helpful.

And I digress...

So as I was saying. I had to get a hold of the team to find out when I could get the court decree as it was supposed to be available Wednesday. Luckily I had thought ahead and asked Joel Golden for Rachel's cell before I left. She called Yulia for me and gave her my cell number and asked her to call me. I never heard from her but Sherry White said she's picking hers and mine up tomorrow before noon. Hmm let's hope so because the embassy is closed Friday through Tuesday and we can't get anything done then. We really need to start some of the paperwork Thursday. We shall see!

I had a great time at TGIF's with a bunch of RR families for dinner. I got to reconnect with Karrie Cannell and finally meet Donnie. I got to see Sherry and meet her son, Keegan. And I got to meet and talk to some amazing families, one of whom gets to take her little girl HOME on Friday!

Overall it's been great to be back. I can't sleep well so jet lag should set in hard today (thursday). I fixed the internet in my apt at 3:30am today, hard boiled some eggs for breakfast, and have been blogging away. More like a super long journal entry. I promise I'll post pics when I figure it out. Until then...

Day 1 - trip 2

I arrived back in Micah's country late Tuesday night. It was a mostly uneventful trip, all flights on time and no lost luggage. It took a while to get the WiFi working in the apartment but all is well now. I only brought the iPad this time to save my back but it's so different than a computer so I'm slow. Add that to I'm still learning the functions of the iPad and you get the inability to do certain things. I had been importing my pics and videos to iPad and deleting them off the memory card to save space for more pics... Well come to find out you can't upload from iPad to things like a computer file, so they are there for my enjoyment until I can get home and put them on the regular computer. SORRY! now that Sherry White can show me the right way to do this, we will be okay but I'm sad I can't share day 1 pics of Micah yet... They are really good!

Early Wednesday morning (5:30am) I left the apartment and went out to find a place to use wifi so I could let Barry know I was here and safe. It was weird to be out that early. The sun rises at 4am, but nobody was out. In a Capitol city of 3+ million people that's kinda eerie. I got to the first McDonald's that opened at 6am but they didn't have wifi so I had breakfast and jumped on the metro to the stop we lived off before I went home. There is a McD's and a coffee shop/cafe that both have wifi. I opted for the cafe to get a break from red and yellow. It was so nice to sit and type for a while in a really comfy booth seat. Around 7:30 I hopped back on the metro to the orphanage only about 20 minutes ride and walk time. I got there a little before 8.

Insert info: when I was home for 10 days, I got a makeover... Not really but I got my hair cut and ordered contacts so my little ham couldn't rip my glasses off my face this trip.

I went to the director's office to tell him I was there for Micah and he stared at me. He didn't know who I was! It was so funny. So I told him "Alosha" and he said "AH DA DA DA" and pointed upstairs. Translation: "ah yes yes yes". P.s. If I haven't said before, Alosha is Micah's nickname at the orphanage. It means Alex.

So I went to his room upstairs and they were in a back room eating breakfast. When you open the door you are in a long hallway that leads you to a common area with four doors off of it. The common area has their cubbies and it's where they get their shoes on, change clothes, and get ready for their day. One door goes to their beds, another room to toys, another room I wasn't sure what it was until yesterday (it's where they eat) and the other one a bathroom. So back to the breakfast story: I went in looking for Micah and didn't see him at first. All the boys appeared to have their heads shaved so I was looking for his eyes. I found him in the back at a small table of four with my favorite caregiver. He still had his hair. He stared at me like Dr. Pasha did, and then I said "hi" and he jumped in my arms so excited with the biggest smile ever. He remembered me!

I caused quite the commotion in that little room. The nannies were not pleased I was in there interrupting breakfast so they whisked me away to the common area with Micah to get him dressed. He was in big boy undies (prior had only been in diapers). I thought "uh oh" but went with it. They got him dressed, put his shoes on, and his hat which he promptly threw off his head as usual. We went outside with him laughing and making his happy noises and him stopping to have me pick him up. He was holding me so tightly I couldn't put him down. He's quite the little cuddler. It made me so happy to know he didn't forget me, but more so to know he loved me and didn't want me to let go.

We sat and I showed him the newest iPad download of Baby Einstein. All of a sudden he paused, looked down, and backed up... You guessed it... He peed his pants. As soon as he was done he walked forward and proceeded to watch the iPad again. Problem is he wanted me to hold him... Not really down for soaked britches on my lap so we started walking toward the building. Then he did it again! I got him inside and the head nanny looked surprised to see me so soon. I motioned for wet crotch and she got it. They took him to the bathroom, cleaned him up, and brought him back in a diaper thank goodness. This is when I learned they expect you to bring diapers for your child after court. Oops! We'll work on the potty training after I get him home since he obviously knew what was about to happen both times.

We promptly returned to the beautiful outdoors where he ran and walked all over the orphanage grounds. We had a great reunion. I had to cut our visit a little short because I hadn't been in touch with the team since my arrival. Thank the Lord for Marianne Fick sending me her personal cell from last year or I wouldn't have a phone! But I had to add minutes to it and call someone to get a hold of Yulia for me.

On my way... again :)

I have been so excited to get back to Micah since I came home. 10 days was great to have with the family, my home, my bed, my car, no smoke, and some quiet in the mountains, but it was a long time away from our new son. I've been looking forward to going back for the past few days, but yesterday it hit me emotionally: I'm leaving the kids AGAIN! :( My heart is in two places, and I sure wish I could be cloned right now.

I'm all packed and ready to go. Everything is in order. The girls will go to Gina's during the day when Barry works, and Fischer is going back to Nick's. The bills are paid. The back deck will be replaced this week (thanks Jesse)! Micah's room is ready. The house is ready.

Last night as we were singing the girls their bedtime songs, I pulled them close and said, "Listen girls. Tonight is our last night with just all of us. When I get back next time, Micah will be with me, and he will be with us doing our songs and stories." Gracie had the BIGGEST smile and Chloe was jumping all over the place. They are so excited to finally meet their little brother.

So today is a day full of last minute errands while Barry is back at work, then we will head to LAX around 3:30pm, have dinner at Denny's (a luxury, trust me), and I'll board the plane for Micah's country, which I will be able to publicly name very soon. I will soon blog about our country's differences... one I can't wait to post and am still making a list about :)

I reserved a cute little studio in the center of town, with a/c and internet. It's a 5 min walk to the main street and 7-10 min to the metro. I love the center of the city. I love the culture, history, and beauty of Micah's birth city, and I'm so glad we got the time and opportunity to tour some sites early in our 1st visit. A part of me will really miss it when I'm home for good... the big capital city of 3+ million people... with dynamics most big cities have (good and bad). Never would I have been able to live in a place like this, never would I have been able to travel to a foreign country, but here I am going back a second time, and I'm really excited!

I am coming home WITH MICAH on July 7th at 7:05pm. If things can get pushed through more quickly, it might be sooner, but the 7th is a realistic date. I'm going through the embassy process over four holidays. So we get to sit and wait a few extra days... not a surprise. "WAIT" is a word I've learned to become cordial with over the past 8 months.

Be well my friends. Enjoy your freedom and our country's independence on July 4th. I am SOOOOO sad that I will miss that this year. It's one of my favorite holidays, and I have really truly learned the meaning of the beauty of America over the past month, and all we take for granted every day. I will be celebrating "independence" a different way this year; breaking Micah out of the orphanage for HIS independence :) Enjoy the fireworks, homemade ice cream, and bbq for me, and say a prayer of thanks for what you have in America. It is a gift from God to have what we have.

"Aaron"

If you follow our blog, you know Aaron's story. If not, scroll through our blogs and find "It could only happen to us". Just a recap, Aaron was the boy given to us at our first meeting and we realized he wasn't the same boy in our pictures who we had been preparing, fundraising, praying, advocating, crying, and laughing over.

So we got the paperwork straightened out and adopted Micah, but what about Aaron?! We have said repeatedly that if we were approved for two children, we would've brought them both home. But our Heavenly Father had other plans. He used our mix-up and story to find Aaron another family, and in record time! Within 3 weeks of our story posting, God used Beth Herrington (another RR mom) to share the story with a woman whose daughter was talking about adoption (of course these "chance" encounters are much bigger than this simple sentence). The mother told her daughter about Aaron's story, and after prayer and consideration, she and her husband have committed to adopting Aaron!!!

We proudly announce that Aaron has a family!

http://reecesrainbow.org/aaron512

I will let them do the honors of introducing themselves and their story, but for now they live in the Sacramento, CA area and are very in love with this sweet boy whose story broke all of our hearts. Since we've been at the orphanage with him, we've been able to give them pictures and videos of their angel. Barry and I are so humbled and blessed to be a part of his rescue. We went for one orphan and God was able to use us (and a host of others praying) to save two. So thank you all! And the biggest thanks goes to our Heavenly Father who loves him more than anyone else could.

A Saturday Surprise!

Before you start thinking I lied; I didn't! I never said I was staying... I just left out the fact that I was coming home ;)

On Thursday morning, I decided to come home with Barry and Annie yesterday to surprise all the kids. We landed about 12:00pm, went through customs, picked up our luggage, got our rental car, and started heading home from LAX around 2:00pm. We stopped for a much needed food break at Chick Fil'a... let me tell you that was a long time coming :) The freeways were SOOOO crowded and it took a long time to get home (at least it felt like it as I kept dosing in and out while Barry drove).

We walked through our front door around 4pm and I rushed upstairs to clean up. At one point I closed my eyes and it felt like I was on a boat, so I figured it was either a rolling earthquake or I was really exhausted. Barry, Annie, and I lied down for a quick nap and didn't wake up until 7:30pm. Even though Gracie and Chloe weren't expecting Barry until Sunday, I wanted so badly to see them last night. So we got up when we should've stayed asleep and drove to Gina's to get the girls. Barry had called her to tell her he was on his way, but we never told her I was with him :)

We pulled up and Gina was loading the Suburban with all the girls stuff and she saw me. Her mouth dropped open wide and she gasped. I put my finger to my mouth to keep the surprise quiet and ran up to her with a big hug. She called me a BRAT for not telling her! Later, it would prove that she was really more excited than anyone else.

Barry and I walked in the house and the girls were sort of vegging before bed, apparently tired, and not sure what to think when we came in. It took a few minutes for it to sink in that we were really there. We stayed and talked for a while and headed for home a bit later. We got home sometime around 10pm I think and got everyone in bed and went straight to sleep.

This morning, we surprised Fischer and went to get him at 10am. He was very suprised when we walked in the door and couldn't believe I was there with Barry. He spent the day with us before he had to work at 4pm and will be home late tonight. Tomorrow we'll take him to get all his things and Abby will be home for good.

I wrote a whole bunch of other things that have long slipped my mind, but blogger decided to log me out and didn't save any of it in a draft, so I guess I'll close the post :)

Another day, I'll do a post about the very different lifestyles between the two countries I've lived in (3 1/2 weeks isn't really visiting is it?!) I am very happy to be back in beautiful USA for another week before I return to get Micah and bring him home for good (sometime around July 5). SURPRISE!

Court Day!

COURT IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, June 10, 2011 marks the day Micah officially became our son. It was a very busy day. Since I will be bringing Micah home alone in a few weeks, and Barry is leaving tomorrow morning, we had to sign some documents at the notary and U.S. Embassy before court. Then our driver got us to court promptly at 2:55pm.

Our facilitator was waiting for us and took a few photos, then rushed us in to our hearing.

Us with our facilitator, driver, and Morgan White on court day (the Whites had to run around with us to the notary and embassy today and we were running out of time, so they tagged along to the courthouse with us).

We knew a little of what to expect because the Whites had just gone through the same court with the same judge just two days before us. However, we were still nervous. Barry had been nervous all day, but I was pretty calm right up until being walked into the courtroom. Barry asked our facilitator what we should know and she gave us some basic instructions (stand when the judge comes in, stand when you answer questions, stand when she leaves).

We were asked to tell about our home and family life, and why we wanted to adopt a child, specifically one with Down syndrome. I spoke first, then Barry spoke the remainder of the time. There were others speaking too, the social worker, the lawyer and representative for the orphanage, and the prosecutor. The lawyer/orphanage representative (she played both parts for us) described the relationship between us and Micah. She described that we came to visit every day and he knew us and knew we were there for him. She said he always ran to us with open arms and smiled. She said his condition was not an issue for us and we treated him as a typical child. I started crying. I loved that she saw what we saw. That he recognized and knew us! Nobody contended our petition, and the prosecutor did not ask one question. About 5-10 minutes later the judge returned and granted favor with our petition, naming us as Micah's parents, and officially changing his name to Micah Charles Ray.

It was a wonderful moment I will never forget. We are listed as Micah's mother and father on his birth certificate! I've known I was his mommy for 7 months, but it's legal now! Oh how I can't wait to bring that sweet boy home to the rest of his family.

To celebrate and take Rachel out to dinner for watching Annie all day, we went to TGIF's with the Whites. Barry and Annie fly home tomorrow, and I will be able to bring Micah home sometime around July 1st. I will be able to pick up the court decree on June 22nd and start the final paperwork process of getting his birth certificate, passport, and visa.

Our "court day" picture after being officially named Micah's parents.

Proudly showing off his scrapbook.


With Daddy


With Mommy


The playpen where Micah was in the first picture we had of him... now empty!


His bed at the orphanage, and showing off "Mousy"