I love being an American!!

Ed and I are home, safe. Tired. The boys are just getting to bed after all the things they had to share with us! It may have been just a week, but somehow they look bigger. :0)

Thanks so much for all you support. Ed and I really appreciated all you kind words of encouragement.

More to come when I can actually think straight.

Love, Kristina

We are coming home...

Ed and I have decided that it is in our best interest to come home. We will be home Monday evening.

We are sure that this is the right decision. We have no regrets about coming here, or coming home.

My only advice to families that are looking to adopt in the Ukraine: (this is JMO)
If you are looking for a specific age or gender, you may want to try a different country. We wanted a girl(or gilrs) under 7. We want to keep the bio order of our children, and we have two boys, so a girl is what we desire. It is very difficult to get exactly what you request. Older children are great, boys are great, but girl under 7, not so great. If you are flexible in your desire, than you will not be diappointed. However, if you are as limited as we are, than be careful. You may come home without a child. Also, be aware that the Ukraine has now set up a "foster care" system for Ukrainians to adopt more children- and they are. So this will also put a limit on who you might see. When we started this program 15 months ago, the Ukraine was a match for our request. I would say - it is no longer. We were told that the Ukrianian people like to and want to adopt younger, healthy girls. I did see stacks of boy files. We were not shown one healthy girl. Another thing that you have to keep in mind, is that if you read most of the blogs of families here now, they are getting older children, multiple children, special needs children or they have some sort of "goverment" delay(with court, passports...things like that). Be VERY prepared to stay here for some time to either get a second or third appt and to get thru their system of paperwork and such. Now this is JMO- and I do know of several families that have adopted children that were exactly what they requested. They are so blessed and lucky. I would say that is not the norm today. Maybe it will change again, it does seem to go in cycles here. If you are flexible, than you will do fine here. Just be careful, and sure that you prepare yourself for EVERY step of the journey. Be open, be prepared, be strong.

Ed and I are blessed with our two amazing boys waiting for us at home. It puts a lot into perspective for us, and helps ease the heart break a bit. If the Ukraine was my only hope for having a family, I am not sure that I would put all my eggs in their basket. Like I said, just be very careful. We followed all the rules, did what was asked of us, jumped through some hoops too, greased some hands but are still coming home without the little girl that we met and wanted to adopt so badly. The system that we were working with(and each "system" is different based off of the director, inspector, facilitator, translator, and region) was not in favor of the children. It was one that, JMO, was worried about quotas and jobs.

Yes, we could wait or come back in 3 weeks, but to be honest, we found the PERFECT child. They would not let us adopt her. I can not see staying here, or returning, when all they tell me is that they might have some girls by then. We want to get back to our boys. Right now, they are the most important things to us.

Thanks to everyone again, for all the love, support and prayers. We are a strong family and we know that, in time, we will all understand the meaning of this adventure.

I can't wait to snuggle those sweet boys of mine!!!

PS- Ed says "hello" to everyone. :)

Love, Kristina

The good and the bad.....

I will start with the bad because that is what this is journey seems to be all about!

I am sad to say that things did not go well on Friday. It was a very long and emotional day- as this whole trip has been. We took the overnight train to Slovansk and meet the first inspector and then on to the Orphanage to meet the older child. She was PERFECT for our famliy in every way. Long dark hair, striking eyes and a smile that melted our hearts. She was shy, but playful. She enjoyed the sweets and stuffed dog that we brought for her. Hugging and kissing it and making it bark. We spent 5 hours being thrown about by the Director, whom obviously did not want to part with girl, but in the end she warmed to us. We said goodbye to the sweet girl and made our journey to the next inspector and orphanage. There were were presented with the cute 4 years old. She ran right to us, smiling and laughing, even though they had woken her from her nap. (Now the yucky part) However, she has several serious medical issues that Ed and I both believe would have been too much for us to handle. We had intended on adopting both girls, IF they had no serious medical concerns. We have heard that it might be possible to seperate siblings- IF they think that is in the best interest of BOTH children. We told them that we would be interested in adopting the older- with out a doubt. The problem is you have to convince them that it was in the childrens best interest to be seperated. This is almost impossible and it was impossible. They would not seperate them- for several reasons that I will not go into. Needless to say, Ed and I were crushed. We truly believe that it was in the best interest of both girls to be seperated because both needed a lot of one-on-one attention in order to reach their potential. The six yo was more like a 4 yo and the 4yr old like a 2 yo (with lots of medical needs). We knew that we could give the older a wonderful home, but to adopt both would really put a lot of pressure on our entire family. It would not be the best chioce for any of us. It is sad because we really could see this girl in our family. We bonded with her, and she enjoyed us as well. I could tell by the way she ran to Ed with the dog we gave her, smiling and speaking fast in Ukrainian. It was very cute. But no matter what we thought, they would not let us adopt her. SOOOOOOO....we are at a loss. We have not had much support from the people that we are PAYING a lot of money to to help us through this journey. We were hoping that they would have this great plan as to what to do, but all we have heard is "October 13 we can have a second appointment and MAYBE they will have a girl for us." Maybe. MAYBE!?!??!?!?! They told us that there are NO girls in the system that are adoptable right now, and they close for a week, so our hands are tied. We feel strongly that we should count our losses (which in reality are very few having seen what we have since arriving here). But that does not make us feel much better. I can not imagine being here until the end of Novemeber, alone because Ed would have to leave on the 24th of October. We have not made any decision yet, but I would suspect that we are coming home.

We are ok with this. I am ok with this. We have had the CRAZIEST week of our lives traveling half way across the world. Since we got on the plane in Atlanta last week it has been a battle. Not ONE thing has gone right. We missed days of sleep and food -which we all know makes Ed a crazy man! :)- We have seen (and smelled things) that I hope to never see or smell again. We have not showered in two days(gross) and feel like we are constantly in motion- the train is very bumpy and after two night on that I am not sure if the motion sickness will ever go away! We have no help, not the people we pay to help us, or the people we shake hands with- with "full" hands.(read between the lines here.....). While I do believe that some people really do want to help the children, I also think that as many don't care about the kids and only about themselves. We knew the potential of not finding a child, although we prayed it would not happen to us.

And now the good news...... :)

Ed and I have learned a lot about ourselves, eachother and our family. Like I said, we have seem some pretty bad, sad, things this week. It makes you put things at home into perspective. We have two amazing boys, a beautiful home and community, and luxuries that we often take for granted. We see how good we ALL have it to live in such a great country- even though it has it own share of problems. We have more things available to us than we will even need in life. They can't even put the heat on when it is cold, it is Goverment controlled so they have to wait until they decide to put it on...and then it it 100 degress in the house because the don't regulate it! We are blessed every day. Ed and I know that our lives are changed forever having seen what we have seen and done what we have done. We have no regrets, whatever may happen. None. It is a lesson to us and the boys as well. I think that we are all learning that no matter what you do, no matter if you follow all the rules and do what is asked of you, you can't always get what you want BUT life goes on. What you make of it from that point on, is up to you.

We want to thank everyone who has supported us along this journey. Your words mean more to us than you will ever know. Your emails, comments and advice has given us something to look forward to when we start up the computer. Thank you.

I will post as soon as we decide what to do. We are in Kiev and will enjoy sight-seeing and souvenier shopping for the time being.

Love, Kristina

Here are a few things that I wanted to share that have nothing to do with nothing, but we thought they were funny or interesting:

1. While in JFK we saw a women put a diaper on a dog. Seriously. It was a Yorkie. She put the diaper on it and them walked it around on a lease. Changed the diaper, wiped the dogs paws with a baby wipe and then put the dog in it's carry-purse.

2. We learned a new word "Texican". We ate at an Irish Pub in Kiev that used the word "Texican" in it description of a meal. Ed and I have decided that we like that word so much, we will use it often. :0)

3. The women here all wear shorts skirts and VERY high, skinny heal, BOOTS. High to the knee or over the knee boots. Think Julia Roberts, Pretty Women. The sidewalks and roads are not easy to walk on. They are hilly, broken, cracked and sometimes cobblestone like. I have no idea how they do it. I think that this might be a new sport for the next olympic games. The craziest part is that I have seen young girls (as young as 9/10) walking around in the same thing. They start them young here.

Thats all for now- we are going out for Pizza!! Yum!- oh - I am not spell checking so please forgive me.... ;) Ed says "hello" to everyone! :)

Oh what a journey we are on!!!!

First, I will say sorry that it took so long for me to post. We are just settleing in to what will hope to be a few promising weeks.



To begin with we traveled 30 hours to arrive in the Ukraine on Monday at 9pm. We were delayed in Atlanta for several hours, missed out conecting flight in JFK, only to have to take a flight from JFK to Paris and then on to the Ukraine. After some- well lots- of confussion with our "lost" luggage that was actually in the Ukraine before us, we finally arrived to our apartment in Kiev around 10:30 pm. Needless to say, it was a very long Sunday and Monday for us. We are happy, comfortable and doing well despite all of that.



I guess I could go on and on about what we are doing, the food and such, but I am sure you want me to get to the APPOINTMENT!!!!! It was a dreary, rainy and cool morning on Tuesday, our appointment was at 11. We decided to walk to the SDA with our translator since we had not had fresh air in two days. It was a nice walk, just few block on a cobblestone sidewalk. The air was damp, cool and crisp. It was calming. We arrived at the SDA and waited just few moments before going inside. While we were inside I heard these words "Are you Kristina's husband?" - I immedietly thought- OM, do I have a friend in the Ukraine???? And as I turned I saw a beautiful women with a warm smile. It was a new friend that I have meet thru our blogs. Heather Smith. She had her appointment on Monday. (Thanks for meeting us, Heather. It was the best surprise yet!) She gave me some quick advice before we were called upstairs for our appointment. The room was small, filled with desks and two couches and a small round table. Ed and I sat on one couch, the translator sat on another, and the pshycologist sat across from all of us. She was a pretty women(as most of the Ukrainian women are). She has long dark hair and a comforting smile. She let us say a few things about ourselves, I showed her the book I made for our daughter, and then the two women talked back and fourth. We sat there as she began to take files out. Files of sick little girls. AIDS, FAS, deep mental delays, small head(really, no joke, probably a sign of FAS). We were very discouraged UNTIL I put my two fingers on my check as a sign to Ed to pull out the "sisters" card. I spoke with our translator and told her that we would be willing to accept TWO healthy girls! SURPRISE!!! So, we are going to visit a 4 year old and a 6 1/2 year old. They are half sisters. One may have an issue that we will have to address, but it is too ealry to get into all of those details. I will not give out anymore information out until after we meet these girls on Friday. We are taking the train to Donets'k on Thursday. It is an overnight ride, and a two hour drive to the town once we get in the region. I will say that both girls are beautiful. One is dark hair, dark eyes- the 6yo and the 4yo is lighter hair and dark eyes. The pictures that we were shown were not recent, so they may look different when we see them. They both have sweet, engaging eyes. We smiled the moment that we saw the files. Our hearts are open to them. We hope and pray that they will be ours. Fingers crossed.



I hope that makes sense to everyone. I am a little off my game, but I am adjusting.



What happens now...........we will tarvel by train to the region. From there we will go to the town they are in. They are in two different orphanages, because of the age differnce. At that time we will meet with doctors, the directors and the care givers of the children. We will have a more detailed file about their history, family and medical. We are hoping that we will have the weekend to decide if we will accept the referrals and adopt the girls. I will let you all know AFTER we have talked with the boys.



My parents and the boys are all doing well. We talk to them everyday after school. We miss them terribly, but know that they are happy and doing great. My parents are doing fine also. Besides a few things with homework, everything seems to be going well. Thanks Mom and Dad! We can't say it enough how thankful we are that you are helping us. You are making this all possible for us! Thanks! We love you.



Here are just a few pictures that we have taken thus far........


Me- somewhere in the Ukraine..... Our kitchen.........SUPA fancy!! :)





Ed- chillin' on the couch in his new hat and a picture of St. Michael's Church







We will post better pictures tomorrow- or as soon as possible. The weather has not been great. Rain, clouds and cool, the the pictures are not good that we took.


OK- that is all for tonight. I will post again- if we have connection.


One small request...please continue to pray for us and these two little girls that we hope will be as perfect for our family as we hope. And, if I may, please pray for my friend Heather. She is hear without her husband and hoping to adopt twins. She is facing a battle of her own. She needs as much support and prayers as possible. Thanks for all the love! We feel it way out here in the Ukraine.

Don't forget to comment on the blog- internet costs a lot, so the faster I can get on and off, the better!!! :)


Happy Birthday, Grandma Tilly!

Ed says "Hello" to everyone! :)


All our love- Kristina and Ed

Just breathe.....

That is what I keep saying to myself each minute of the day! Ed and I can not believe that we are leaving in 4 days! FOUR!!! I think that we are ready to go. We have packed everything that we possibly can. We each have two bags. One to check and one to carry one. We have enough movies and music, books, magazines, cards and Advil. :) We have just a few things left to do. Mostly things for the boys.
My parents will be arriving tomorrow. Which will be nice. It will help me to relax- at least for a second or two!
I am off to do a few last minute things. I don't think that I will have time to Blog again until we arrive in Kiev.

Here are a few things that I think you should or might want to know:
We leave Sunday and get to the Ukraine on Monday. There is a 7 hours time difference from the East Coast. The entire time of our trip there will be from 9:00 am (our time) to 9:00 am (their time).

I will Blog as often as I can. I am not sure when and if we will have Internet connection, but check the blog often to see what we have been up to.

Our appointment, and there after: Our appt. is Tuesday the 23. Not sure what time. BUT by the time it is noon here, we will have all the details for you as to how the appointment went! At the appointment they will show us some files containing as much information as they have and a photo. We will go through them with our translator/facilitator. We will (fingers crossed) select a child. (Please pray that we see the child that is meant to be ours, and that we get shown children that are healthy.)(For those of you that are Ukraine PAP-or AP- I KNOW that there are no "healthy" child. You know what I mean when I say "healthy".) From there you need a referral to go to the orphanage that she is at. The orphanage most likely will NOT be close to where we are. We will then travel by car or train to that region. Meet with the director of the orphanage and then meet the child. If all goes we, we will decided to adopt her and begin paperwork to get a court date. This date can be a week or more away. We have court, wait the mandatory 10 day waiting period. During this time we will visit her 2 times a day- at the orphanage. After the 10 days we pick her up, head back to Kiev, finish more paperwork and GET HOME!!! We are hoping the entire trip will take 4-6 weeks from start to finish.

That is the best case scenario that I have layed out for you. Ed and I realize that there will be many bumps along our road. We are ready and as prepared as we can be.

We ask that you keep Nick and Tom in your thoughts and prayers while we are gone. We know that Grandma and Grandpa will take GREAT care of them. But it is a long journey for them as well. They will miss there Mommy and Daddy even with all the fun things Grandma and Pa have planned for them. Pray that my mom and dad can keep up with them, stay healthy and they understand how to do the boys homework (hee, hee!) with them.

Please pray for Ed and I while we are away. Keep us safe and strong- prepared to face whatever challenges lay ahead of us. We are so ready to take this amazing journey. We have been waiting a long time for this day to come.

Finally, please pray for our daughter. This little girl is about to have here world turned upside down. Pray that she has the strength and courage to face ALL the new and exciting things that will be placed before her in the next month.

Ed and I want to thank EVERYONE who has helped us along the way. All of your emails, comments and advice has been amazing! We feel so loved. We hope that you will continue to follow along, and enjoy what we have to share. Don't forget to leave a comment right here on the blog site- you DON'T have to email me separately. If you check my older posts it tell you how to leave comments right on the blog! (I actually prefer if you leave the comment here(unless there is something personal)- it is easier for me!)

Thanks again for all the support!

Love- Kristina and Ed