A week and a day.

That is how long we've been home.  It has only been one week and one day, yet it feels like they have been here forever.

I want to go ahead and apologize right off the bat, for my blogging absence.  We spent the first few days adjusting, and then once I got the chance to sit down and blog....blogger was down.  Now it is back up and running and I have a few minutes to type, so here goes.

I'm going to try to sum up the days since we've been home quickly.  I really wish that I had had the time to sit down and blog everyday, because every. single. day. has been an amazing journey.  The three Ukrainian kids I have in my home are not the same kids I took out of an orphanage just a couple of weeks ago.  The changes in them, already, is more than I can convey in one simple blog post.  But I'll do my best.

I guess I should tell a little bit about our journey from Ukraine to the USA.  The kids did AMAZING on the long trip home.  We had alot of bumps in the road on the way home, but God showed up at everyone of them, and we made it home when expected, against all odds.  We were blessed to be able to fly home with only one stop.  On both plane rides Danil and my mom sat together, and Josslyn, Alik, and Kellen sat with me.  It just worked best for everyone that way.  Danil needed the most direct attention during our flights, so it was a big blessing to have my mom with me and available to give that to him.  The trip home really deserves a blog post in itself, but since my computer time is super limited these days, I'll have to save that for some random day when the mood hits me at the same time that I have a chance to blog. With six kids, that day might be never....

Anyway, when our plane landed in Houston(oh glorious day!!), the kids trotted off the plane and we all headed to customs.  The kids(all four of them) had traveled like champs, and we made our way through customs like we owned the joint.  After customs my new kids and I were herded to immigration.  My mom and Kellen weren't allowed in there, so they went and got our luggage and met the rest of our family who was waiting in the arrival section.  Immigration felt like it took FOR.EV.ER.  I was SO CLOSE to being home with my kids, and was once again stuck with paperwork. Ugh.  The guy that stamped my kid's visa(finally), ended up being really nice and helpful.  Once we got our visa stamps, instructions on green cards and what-not, and were finally sent on our way, I was more than ready to be re-united with my other family members.  Alik, who had been very relaxed up until this point, started tensing up.  I don't know if he could sense that I was getting exciting or what, but as we approached the "Arrivals" door(which held my waiting family on the other side) he grabbed my hand with one hand, started sucking his other thumb, and tensed up his entire body.  When we walked through the doors it was great!(for me, at least)  I could see alot of family and Luke and Ray came running up to us.  I was carrying Josslyn in a baby carrier(she weighs exacting the same as Kellen, and they are 2 years apart).  I squatted down to hug Luke and Ray.  Luke doesn't really require squatting, but it is uncomfortable to bend over when you are wearing a baby(or a 3 year old, in this case).  Raylen came right up too us and held out her hand to Josslyn and said, "Hi Josslyn.  I'm your sister."  Josslyn smiled, reached out to Ray and took her hand.  It was one of the moments in my life that I will never ever ever forget.  It was one of those times where you feel like everything is absolutely perfect in the world.  From the time that Josslyn warmed up to us in the orphanage and we started to get to know her personality, I knew that her and Ray would be great friends.  But I had no idea that Josslyn would take to Raylen IMMEDIATELY.  The picture perfect introduction has carried over in to our day to day life also.  On the way home from the airport Josslyn and Ray talked to each other whole way.  Josslyn babbling in Russian, and Ray answering in English.  I am still kicking myself for not getting this priceless moment on video.  God had truly done a work in their hearts to supernaturally connect them before they ever even met each other.  Josslyn absolutely adores Ray.  Joss is usually up in the morning before Ray.  When J sees R, she runs to her, yelling, "seestra!"(sister, in Russian)  Josslyn will stroke Ray's face, hug her, and then stroke her face some more, all while saying, "Seestra!" over and over.  Like I said, Josslyn adores Ray.

Back to the airport though.  Danil did great, of course.  He met everyone with a great attitude. That kid is so laid back an flexible it is amazing.  Since he's been home he has been a completely different kid than Josh and I visited with at the orphanage.  We reeeeeaally thought he was going to be our toughest kid, but he has seriously been the easiest of all six of our kiddos.  He is so calm and laid back at home that I can forget he is even here.  He only gets an attitude or gets fussy when he is tired.  He goes to bed great at night, sleeps the latest(except for Luke), and takes long naps.  What more could a mom ask for?!  He LOVES music, and he tends to wander the house looking for a quiet spot so that he can play his little piano and sing.  IF he can find that spot, he will stay there for an hour just singing to himself.  He's pretty much amazing.  Josh adores him.  Even though Danil isn't particularly affectionate, Josh's adoration has turned him into a Daddy's boy and he, in turn, adores Josh's affection. 

Alik has been my blossoming little flower.  He has gone from a scared wild rabbit at the airport, that would have done anything to get back to his groupa, to a completely different child.  I honestly don't think that there is anything in the world that you could offer Alik that would make him go back to the orphanage.  He has totally fallen in love with us.  In just a few days time I saw changes in Alik that I was praying I would see with in the YEAR.  He has made strides and brought down barriers that I wondered if they would ever come down.  I know that some children, because of their circumstances in early childhood, are just uncapable of bonding.  What I had seen from Alik, while we were in Ukraine, made me question if he was one of these children.  I got my answer very quickly that he is NOT one of those kids.  He loves me more than I even deserve.  I have only been his mom for a few weeks, and he adores me like I have been there for him for years.  And he loves Josh exponentially more than that.  (and THAT is another miracle in itself).  I could write a book about the changes I've seen in Alik since the time I got him out of the orphanage.  ONLY GOD could do a work like I've seen.  In 7 short days, Alik has already busted through ever expectation I've had for him.  I don't even know what to expect from him now.  If he continues on the track he's on he's going to be the president one day.  He wants to learn English so bad.  He is constantly bringing things to me and wanting to know what they are in English.  He even picks up things that I haven't taught him.  He's quite the little learner.  In the past couple of days he has really bonded with Ray too.  They are quite the little pair.  Since he is so little for his age, they look like twins.  He likes to be near her, and they play great together.  He's the twin that Ray should of had at birth. 

I know that I have only begin to scratch the surface of telling you what has been going on here the past week.  I am really going to try to do better at blogging.  Maybe now that we are falling in to a schedule I will have more of a chance to get computer time.  Maybe I will get a chance to post pictures of the past week too.

Thanks for your patience.

We are coming home!!!!

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

(That was me breathing a deep sign of relief.)

The interview at the Embassy went as smooth at butter!!  I have the kid's visa and we start our journey home in less than 12 hours!!  I feel a huge weight lifted off of me, knowing that there is NOTHING stopping me from bringing my children home! 

Right now I've got to go.  I need to finish packing suitcases and carry ons for 5 people, making sure all little people have plenty of snacks, toys, and a few changes of clothes accessable on the long flight home. 

Not only are the kids MINE(and Josh's. *wink*), but now I can officially bring them HOME.  Whoo hooo!!!!

Embassy day 1 down. Now for the big one.

This is going to have to be a quick update.  I have a nearly 15 month old in my lap, a 3 year old with my socks on beside me(and halfway in my lap also), and a 4.5 year old who keeps sticking his head in front of the screen to see what I'm doing, and a 5 year old who I have one eye on to make sure he doesn't take apart the TV with a butter knife.  Makes blogging difficult, but I wouldn't change a thing. 

Keeping things chronological I'll start with the train ride.  I got the kids out of the orphanage late Wednesday afternoon.  By the time I got them back to the apartment it was time for supper.  They ate great.  My mom made some Ukrainian dumplings because Marina said that is something that they all would like.  It was super easy to make.  Just boil until tender and then stir in some butter.  Marina was right, they loved it!  I also got my first experience giving Josslyn and Alik their medicine.  They take it really well, which is a huge blessing, since they both take 3 medicines twice a day.

Our train left at 10:40PM, so by the time Roman picked us up at 9:40 I had 4 tired kids on my hand that have 4 different reactions to being tired.  Alik got wired, Kellen got fussy, Josslyn got clingy, and Danil got calm and quiet. (Praise God for the last one!)  The kids did great at the train station!  I was a little worried that a couple of them might try to make a break  while we were loaded down with bags, and backpacks....and children.  But I guess the unfamilar surroundings caused them to stick to me like glue.  I had Kellen in the wrap, a backpack on my back that weighs more than my two smallest children combined, Alik and Josslyn held my hands, and my mom carried Danil.  Thank the Lord we had Roman to help with the bags! 

The train ride went smoother than I ever imagined it could/would.  Our room(and I use that word loosly.  it is SMALL)  had two benches.  Alik and my mom slept on one, with their heads at opposite ends.  I sat in the middle of the other with Kellen sleeping at one end and Josslyn sleeping at the other.  Danil slept on a pallet on the floor between us.  For a while after everyone was sleeping I didn't even feel sleepy.  I just couldn't believe that I had all three of them right there with me.  It was a little surreal.  And it was all going so much smoother than I had imagined, which made it even more surreal.

Our train got to Kiev a little before 7am.  Our driver took us to our apartment.  We dropped our stuff off, fed the kids breakfast, and headed out to do Embassy stuff.  My appointment at the Embassy was at 10:30am, but all that really consisted off was a lady looking over some papers and making sure that I had everything I needed for my visa interview today.  After that I paid all the Embassy fees, and then we took the kids to have their medicals done.  All four of the kids were very cooperative, even though I know that they were tired, and bored, and hungry.

Today is the BIG day though.  Today at 2pm is when I have the actual visa interview.  I'm pretty nervous about it for several reasons. 1.  I have to have the kids with me, and since I think it is going to take a while(there is alot of paperwork to go over), I know that they are going to be bored, not to mention ready for a nap.  2. I'm worried that something in my paperwork will either be wrong, or incomplete, or unsatisfactory in some way.  If something has to be changed or fixed, then that means we could possibly not get the visas until Monday.  3.  I'm just worried that I won't get the visas today, in general.  I can't come home until I have those visas, so I won't be able to take a deep breath until I have them IN MY HAND.  I don't care if they cry the entire trip home, as long as I get those visas.  And on that note, going on how the kids have been doing so far, I think the trip home is going to be much smoother than I have been anticipating.  Flight seating on the way home is going to go like this.  Kellen in my lap, Alik and Josslyn on each side of me.  I plan on us being on a seater row.  Danil will sit by my mom.  I don't know if our seats will be by their seats or not.  I am hoping that the kids will sleep alot on the flight.  We have to leave our apartment at 3am to go to the airport, so I know that they will be tired.  Luckily, Danil gets pretty calm and quiet when he is sleepy, so he just might have a very smooth trip.  Prior to getting the kids out of the orphanage, I was most worried about Danil on the trip home.  Now that I have them out for a few days, I am most concerned about Alik.  When he gets tired he get verrrry wound up.  And when he gets bored he gets very mischevious.  And when he doesn't get his way he can throw a noisy kicking fit.  It might be a long plane ride for whoever is sitting in front of him on the plane.  I plan on putting him by the window, so hopefully that will help entertain him. 

I'd love to write more, but I've got a baby that needs a nap.  I hope to have a chance to blog after the Embassy today to let you now what the visa verdit is, victory or defeat.  We've had trouble with the internet here though, so if you don't hear from me then that is the reason why.  Also, if you happen to get a chance from about 6-8am CST then please say a prayer for my interview to get the kid's visas.

Thank you so much for all your prayers thus far!

THEY ARE FREE!!!!

Parker, Danil, and Josslyn have officially let the building!!!  Busting them out of the orphanage went very smoothly.  We've already fed them and bathed Josslyn(I just had to get her hair clean asap so that I could play with it!). Right now I am at a coffee shop in the mall with Alik and Josslyn at my side.  We had to move out of our apartment at noon and are staying the rest of the afternoon and evening and a little room.  I don't have internet there, so I had to steal away to the coffee shop to post quickly and schedule flights home.  We found out this morning that we have our appointment at the US Embassy to get the kid's visa TOMORROW!!!  We hope to get the visas on Friday and fly home on Saturday!!  I will post as soon as I get the chance once I get back in Kiev.  Please be praying that everything at the Embassy goes smoothly.  They have been discriminating against American who adopt children with HIV and are giving them a tough time getting visas for their children.  Out of EVERYTHING in our adoption process, the Embassy has been the thing I have been most worried and stress about.  Pray things go smoothly! 

Dos vi danya!!(See you later!)

Only God.

Since taking this leap out in to the adoption world, I've been constantly amazed at how God moves on behalf of these little ones who so desperately need a family.  Often times, I feel like all we did was take that first step of obedience and God did everything else.  There were times here and there that I questioned if God knew when He was doing, and then He would show up BIG TIME and I would feel like doubting Tomas with faith the size of a grain of sand.  Every time there was what seemed to be a road block, God was already on the other side.  I would sit there staring at the road block and the Lord would be like, "Hello.  I've over here.  Why did you stop to stare at the mountain.  If you would just keep your eyes on me then you would see that I've already moved this mountain.  You can get over here on the other side with me, or you can waste you time worrying about a problem I've already fixed." 

God's plan for our adoption was pre-ordained.  This was all HIS plan, and we just chose to be a part of it.  He is even already over there making the way straight for the appointment at the US Embassy that I am so worried about.

One thing that God knew ahead of time, that I did not know until recently, was that while he was preparing our hearts for adoption and starting us down the road towards our children, he was doing the same thing in another family.  During the beginning stages of our adoption process, I was contacted by a good friend who said that God was working in her and her husband's heart and that he was calling them to adoption.  They had no clue what the logistics would look like, since they have 3 young children of their own, but they knew that this was God's call for them at some point.  Sorta sound like the beginning of Josh and I's adoption story, right?  God is good.

Well, just like Josh and I, God's call to them came a little quicker than anticipated.  I knew that they had been looking, praying, and weeping over the children on Reece's Rainbow, so I was not at all shocked when God showed them their son and he just happened to be a RR cutie.  What DID surprise me, was that their son is in the same orphanage as Parker.  WHAT?!  God, are you serious?!  A very good friend of mine is not only going to adopt through Reece's Rainbow, but her son just happens to be in the same orphanage as my son?!

It gets even better, people.  Her son and Parker were in the SAME group at the baby house and were transferred to the children's home at the SAME TIME.  They are great buds and are probably more like brothers since it is likely that they have been together since they were INFANTS.  They have basically been together almost every day of their lives.  Oh, and I guess I left out the part of the story that these people who are adopting Parker's friend, are not only awesome, wonderful, Godly people who are good friends of ours......they also only live about 5 minutes from our house!!!! Only God.  That's just all I can say about that.  Only God.  I could have never in my best planning have come up with something as amazing at this. Only God.

God knew how bad my Parker was going to need his friend near-by.  I have had the pleasure of meeting Parker's friend(he is Kirk on RR).  He is precious beyond words.  How great is God's love for these boys that he picked family for them that are practically neighbors?  That kind of love, that our Father has, is just more than I can fathom.

Now, why don't you hop on over to Kirk's mama's blog and look at some more pictures of that cutie pie!  They are at, Our Blessed Life.  And while you're at it, throw all your support behind this wonderful family who has chosen to obey a God that loves his children more than we can even imagine.

Just because I think my kids are cute....

I am going to do a blog post that is just pictures of them from this morning's visit.

I'll close with a few fun facts:
Even though she can't say her name, she can say "up"(for me to pick her up), and "again"(whenever she wants me to do anything again) very well.  I can get her to say alot of other things too, but those two words she remembers on her own every day without me having to remind her.  I think she is going to pick up english fairly well, I'm just not sure how well I will be able to understand her.

Danil learned the sign for thank you today.  I fully expect him to remember it the next time I see him.  He's awesome.  He says alot in English too, but his speech isn't clear either.  I think he is probably going to pick up english the best, although I'm not sure how much of it I will be able to decifer for a while.

I don't think I am going to visit the baby house tomorrow, so I won't see them again until Wednesday when I got to get them out for good!!!  The visits are getting hard on Josslyn because she wants to go with me so bad, so I think it is best to not go tomorrow, for her sake.  I can't believe the next time I see them it will be the first day of a new life for them, and me.  I still can't totally wrap my head around it yet.

I just have not done good at blogging this time around.  First I was exhausted.  Then we were without internet for 3 days.  Then.....I don't really have an excuse for why I haven't blogged more since we got internet back. 

The news:  Gotcha day will be Wednesday!  Gotcha Day is the day I get the kids out of the orphanage FOREVER!!  Their passports will be ready that day, so that afternoon I will get them all out of the orphanage and then we will take the night train to Kiev.  Once in Kiev, the process of getting the kid's visa(so that they can enter the United States) takes two business days.  I am PRAYING that we are able to do this on Thurday and Friday, so that we can fly home on Saturday, but I won't know this until Wednesday because the Embassy is closed for the weekend and then they have two days of holidays on Monday and Tuesday.  So I won't know until Wednesday when they are giving me an appointment for.  Could be Thursday, Friday, or Monday.....  Praying for Thursday.

Visits with the kids have been going well.  Kellen has fully recoved from whatever he had(we're thinking Roseola??), so my mom has been able to come to the orphanages and meet the kids.  She had been staying at the apartment with Kellen while he was sick.  She was able to meet Danil and Josslyn 2 days ago.  She was supposed to meet Parker yesterday, but the driver took us to the wrong orphanage, so she wasn't able to meet Parker until today.  Parker, who made even more progress at my Friday visit, re-treated in to his shell a little bit today when I had my mom and Kellen with me at our visit.  I am realizing how hard all the changes are going to be for him.  I'm praying for wisdom on how to make the transition in to his new family, home, and country easier for him.

Josslyn is very very very ready for me to bust her out of that orphanage.  That girl has changed so much since I first met her.  At first, at the end of our visits she WANTED to go back to her group.  Then she slowly started to NOT want to go back to her group, but she would hug me, say bye, and then trot off to join her friends.  The last two visits have ended terribly.  Both times, when I started to walk her back to her groupa room she started saying "no!no!no!".  When we got the the door she tried to push it shut and hold on to the door frame to keep from going in.  She clung to me for dear life and was hysterically sobbing by the time I pried her off my and handed her to the nanny.(Whom she fought to let her down so that she could get back to me.)  I felt terrible for her!  I have never seen her like that.  I think that all 3 of my new children are going to have very different reactions to leaving the orphanage.  And I think my 3 biological children are going to have 3 very different ways of adjusting to our new life as a family of 8.  EIGHT.  That is alot of people in one house adjusting to our new family.  We'll get through it though, and come out much better on the other side. 

Here are a few random photos from the last couple of days.

Josslyn and Kellen on the swing.

Josslyn LOVES to swing and Danil LOVES to slide.  Oh, Josslyn is also responding more to being called "Josslyn".  I can even get her to point to herself and say "Josslyn".  The only problem is, she cannot pronounce "s" at all(in English or Russian), so it doesn't sound like she is saying "Josslyn".  Great.  I picked a name that she can't even say!  It is really cute to hear her try though!

This is Parker being hugged by a friend.  Stay tuned and tomorrow I will explain who this little friend of his is.  This is good stuff.  You are really going to want to know. (How is that for leaving you hanging??)

Josslyn pushing Kellen on the merry-go-round

Swangin'

This girl is such the princess.  She was so proud of that hat she was wearing.  She just loves accessories....and make up......and jewelry.  Like I said, Grade A princess.

Going to run!  Almost time to skype with Josh and the kids.  I miss them!!