Well, it has been way too long since I have compiled my thoughts to put down on this blog! I have had many friends and family asking me to provide a blog update, but it was finally getting on here to read two friends' brand new blogs that got me motivated to update.....
So, here goes! We have now been home almost 10 months and my how the time flies. There were moments (still are) when Greg and I truly didn't know if we were going to make it. We were so overwhelmed with the added stress of 2 new non-English-speaking sons. That stress has pretty much dissipated and now we are on to the stress of raising 3 sons as God would have us do it! I never cease to be amazed at how hard being a parent is. But, enough about the negative and on to the 3 positively awesome blessings the Lord has granted us!
Jackson is doing well in 1st grade. He loves school (most days) and is a great student. As most of you that know him can imagine, he is a rule follower and loves reminding us and his brothers about the rules. He has made lots of new friends, one of which lives in the front of our neighborhood. His name is Landon and his parents are Christians. We are so happy that God has blessed Jackson with a friend at school whose parents and background are similar to his own. He has lost a total of 7 teeth now, but only 3 haven't started coming in yet...his mouth is pretty gapped up right now, though! Most importantly, he has been able to commit the first 26 verses of Psalm 119 to memory. We are so proud of him and his hard work on his scripture memorization!
Philip is also doing well. We got the added blessing of his kindergarten teacher being a member of our church. She has been such a blessing to us this year and has really gone above and beyond to help Philip as he is learning English. Philip is definitely blessed with a creative and artistic mind. His drawings are much better than mine could ever hope to be and he has not had any formal classes yet. We really hope to foster this talent of his and help him use it for God's glory! He can also take anything apart and put it back together again and he builds huge lego sets in just a couple of hours! He is definitely going to be skilled at working with his hands. He has grown a ton since we came home. His legs are the longest part of him...and they are almost as long as Jackson's, so he has grown into size 6's. Thank goodness Jackson had made it into his 7's so we have plenty of pants to go around!
Ryan is enjoying his time at Valleydale/Noah's Nook Mother's Day Out. He is getting some good education on his English and his alphabet besides just at home. It is great! He is our little tumbler and just flips and flops all over the house. He developed a limp that he was trying to hide from us, but I guess it finally got too painful to hide. We took him in for bloodwork and x-rays and all were clear, Praise the Lord! So, the doc felt like it was just some deep bruising and it did indeed get better a few days after the appointment. It was very hard to try to keep him still and off of his leg so it could heal! He is very bright and seems to learn new words almost as we introduce them to him. He has also memorized about 4 of his memory verses. Honestly, Greg and I have not been working on scripture as hard with them and were just planning on initiating that once he and Philip were more adept at their English. But, God has proven to us just how much they can learn. Ryan learned his verses just from the work they do on them in class! So, scripture memorization is now going to be part of all 3 of their lives!
I realize that I have not posted in so long and that there is a ton more to say....but, I will just say what a blessed Christmas we ALL had this year. It was just so amazing to me and Greg that we had 3 boys to love on this Christmas. It was truly the best Christmas ever...even if it was not the most plentiful in "stuff"! And just to let you know, Philip and Ryan have amazed everyone with their mastering of the English language. They still have their accents, but their word base is huge! I don't ever really notice them not understanding us anymore. It's now just individual words that might be new to them! It's absolutely amazing how quickly they have improved! And the brothers all 3 get along well....they have moments as all siblings do. But, overall they love each other and enjoy each other's company! It's great!
Thanks to anyone who might be reading and following our family's story! I will try to keep it updated more often!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Friday, April 10, 2009
Hey friends! I just wanted to take a moment to update everyone on how our family is doing! We have been home 3 weeks (as of 4-9) and have just seen huge improvements in most every aspect of our family life. We really had some huge emotional adjustments when we got home. I think we thought that getting to America would make things so much better, that everything else would be easier too. That was not even a bit true....except that we were so happy and relieved to get to be with all our friends and family again!!! Anyway, we felt like we were never going to see the light at the end of our new, long tunnel. But, we have, praise God! We are all feeling and acting more like a family of 5 instead of just a family of 3 with 2 visitors! Thank you all for continuing to pray with and for us and we ask that you keep that up! We have only made it this far and will only continue to make it with God's grace and help!
Philip is really understanding a ton of English! I accidentally asked him to turn the bathroom light off the other night, forgetting that he wouldn't understand me, and he went and did it! He is often the translator for Ryan...I will explain things to both of them and then he will explain it to Ryan in Ukrainian. He is very independent and wants to do everything for himself, so it is making it a little bit harder to try to bond with him and teach him things. But, we are trying to just be persistent and keep on pursuing him. He is very artistic and loves to do things with his hands. He will sit and draw or color for long periods of time. He seems to really want to bond with Jackson and even said that Jackson was his only brat (brother) one day...not Ryan. He and Ryan both make up their beds almost every morning without me asking. We are currently planning on putting him in a summer program on Tues/Thurs and he will start kindergarten in the fall...we think. We can't afford Briarwood anymore, so they will be at Valley Elementary in Pelham.
Ryan is still smiling. We told you about his smile...it comes after discipline, sickness, tiredness...almost all the time. It often is to get attention, but we don't care. We just enjoy getting smiled at. He tries to take care of us...making sure we are covered up if we are sitting watching tv, making sure we have food or drink, helping out with whatever chore we are doing (laundry, dishes, groceries). He is our little sharer...as long as he has his first, he will give every last one away to someone else. He is more receptive to our help with things, but that makes sense as he his the youngest of our boys. He is still the pickiest eater and we still just keep on offering him what we are eating. We just always have some fruit on hand and he gets rewarded with fruit if he eats well. He and Philip have both been to church with us now...Philip goes into Jackson's class, so he hasn't had a problem. Ryan went into class with no problems, but then cried when Greg picked him up. We don't know if he thought we weren't coming back or what, but we are going to keep on taking them so that they will begin to know that we will always come back.
Both boys went to the UAB International Clinic on Wed. and both did well. They don't appear to have any excessive emotional problems and checked out well physically. Of course, there will be normal emotional issues that arise when bringing home adopted children, but for now they seem to be very healthy otherwise. Philip has some issues with his teeth so we are going to get both of them into the dentist ASAP. They still have to have vision and hearing checks, but the MD at the clinic said their ears did not look like they had frequent ear infections. We are very happy that God has taken such good care of our boys to this point!
Jackson is doing better. We started him off in his old room with both of them in there also. Friends came and moved his bed to another bedroom and got us 3 twins for his room. So, for about a week and a half, they shared a room. This seemed to give Jackson more problems. They would talk and whisper in the room and keep him awake....and I'm sure it didn't help that he couldn't understand them. Now that we have moved him into the other bedroom and into his original bed, he is doing much better. He is playing with them a lot more and actually enjoying them again. He still tells on them quite a bit and we are trying to get that to stop because we know that they are going to stop letting him be around them if they think he is only going to tell on them. Emotionally, he seems to be better as well. He still needs a lot of individual time from both of us and we want to give him that. We are trying very hard to balance his needs with theirs, but since he can understand us and knows how our family used to be, we are really careful to do a little extra doting on him for now.
We are blessed and we do keep on focusing on that....even in the hard times! Praise God on this Easter weekend and thank you Jesus for the ultimate sacrifice you made on the cross! We love you all!
Philip is really understanding a ton of English! I accidentally asked him to turn the bathroom light off the other night, forgetting that he wouldn't understand me, and he went and did it! He is often the translator for Ryan...I will explain things to both of them and then he will explain it to Ryan in Ukrainian. He is very independent and wants to do everything for himself, so it is making it a little bit harder to try to bond with him and teach him things. But, we are trying to just be persistent and keep on pursuing him. He is very artistic and loves to do things with his hands. He will sit and draw or color for long periods of time. He seems to really want to bond with Jackson and even said that Jackson was his only brat (brother) one day...not Ryan. He and Ryan both make up their beds almost every morning without me asking. We are currently planning on putting him in a summer program on Tues/Thurs and he will start kindergarten in the fall...we think. We can't afford Briarwood anymore, so they will be at Valley Elementary in Pelham.
Ryan is still smiling. We told you about his smile...it comes after discipline, sickness, tiredness...almost all the time. It often is to get attention, but we don't care. We just enjoy getting smiled at. He tries to take care of us...making sure we are covered up if we are sitting watching tv, making sure we have food or drink, helping out with whatever chore we are doing (laundry, dishes, groceries). He is our little sharer...as long as he has his first, he will give every last one away to someone else. He is more receptive to our help with things, but that makes sense as he his the youngest of our boys. He is still the pickiest eater and we still just keep on offering him what we are eating. We just always have some fruit on hand and he gets rewarded with fruit if he eats well. He and Philip have both been to church with us now...Philip goes into Jackson's class, so he hasn't had a problem. Ryan went into class with no problems, but then cried when Greg picked him up. We don't know if he thought we weren't coming back or what, but we are going to keep on taking them so that they will begin to know that we will always come back.
Both boys went to the UAB International Clinic on Wed. and both did well. They don't appear to have any excessive emotional problems and checked out well physically. Of course, there will be normal emotional issues that arise when bringing home adopted children, but for now they seem to be very healthy otherwise. Philip has some issues with his teeth so we are going to get both of them into the dentist ASAP. They still have to have vision and hearing checks, but the MD at the clinic said their ears did not look like they had frequent ear infections. We are very happy that God has taken such good care of our boys to this point!
Jackson is doing better. We started him off in his old room with both of them in there also. Friends came and moved his bed to another bedroom and got us 3 twins for his room. So, for about a week and a half, they shared a room. This seemed to give Jackson more problems. They would talk and whisper in the room and keep him awake....and I'm sure it didn't help that he couldn't understand them. Now that we have moved him into the other bedroom and into his original bed, he is doing much better. He is playing with them a lot more and actually enjoying them again. He still tells on them quite a bit and we are trying to get that to stop because we know that they are going to stop letting him be around them if they think he is only going to tell on them. Emotionally, he seems to be better as well. He still needs a lot of individual time from both of us and we want to give him that. We are trying very hard to balance his needs with theirs, but since he can understand us and knows how our family used to be, we are really careful to do a little extra doting on him for now.
We are blessed and we do keep on focusing on that....even in the hard times! Praise God on this Easter weekend and thank you Jesus for the ultimate sacrifice you made on the cross! We love you all!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
I just wanted to take a few minutes to tell everyone hello and let you all know how we are. Jackson is currently the only one of us who isn't still hacking up a lung, but we have been fever-free since Sunday evening now. All the boys are sleeping well, but Greg and I aren't so lucky. We have been taking meds to sleep, but tried without it last night. I got about 4 hours and Greg made it to almost 6! Hopefully we will both be sleeping more peacefully soon!
Please pray for us if we come to your mind! Our emotions are very fragile right now. I have spent a lot of time in tears and I am just over it. Basically, we are worried about making sure our 2 new sons know our love and know that they are our forever sons. They are equal to Jackson. But, since being home, Jackson is having a little bit more of an issue with "sharing". I put this in quotes because it isn't so much a problem sharing his stuff as it is his time with us, especially with his Daddy! So, we are worried about making sure Jackson still knows how special he is to us! It is very hard work! In fact, I have been so emotional that my Momma is going to hang out with me a bit longer. She has been such a wonderful help to us and especially to me!
We are very blessed and just trying to to keep that in mind! We just need a fresh perspective from our Heavenly Father so we can get our minds off ourselves! Thanks for caring and for your prayers!
Please pray for us if we come to your mind! Our emotions are very fragile right now. I have spent a lot of time in tears and I am just over it. Basically, we are worried about making sure our 2 new sons know our love and know that they are our forever sons. They are equal to Jackson. But, since being home, Jackson is having a little bit more of an issue with "sharing". I put this in quotes because it isn't so much a problem sharing his stuff as it is his time with us, especially with his Daddy! So, we are worried about making sure Jackson still knows how special he is to us! It is very hard work! In fact, I have been so emotional that my Momma is going to hang out with me a bit longer. She has been such a wonderful help to us and especially to me!
We are very blessed and just trying to to keep that in mind! We just need a fresh perspective from our Heavenly Father so we can get our minds off ourselves! Thanks for caring and for your prayers!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Hey everyone! It's 7:20 here....and here is ALABAMA!!!! Any of you who have been following our blog will get that....and any of you reading this for the first time, well I'm sorry you might not get the joke! Anyway, I don't even know if anyone will still go on this blog since it was mostly set up to give updates on our adoption journey in Ukraine! But, Greg and I are quickly discovering that our journey has only just begun...so I guess I will keep updating the blog, because it is a good way for me to collect my thoughts!
Anyway, we had very nice flights with all 3 boys. Ryan got feverish about 30 mins. post the blogging I did on Wed. night asking for prayer for him not to get it! Anyway, he was feverish about 4 hours into the first flight from Kiev to NYC (when the medicine wore off) and he stayed that way the rest of the journey home. I couldn't take any medicine because of those crazy liquid rules, so he basically slept the whole way. Philip and Jackson both slept a little on the last 2 flights. We got to the B'ham airport about 10:45pm and had a joyous reception by a wonderful group of friends and family! It was absolutely one of the best experiences of our lives! I just want to give a huge thanks to all of you who came to meet us....it was so, so, so much of a blessing to us! We left the airport after finding out another "Greg" had picked up one of our suitcases and left his there. So, Jes and Holly were kind enough to drive to Starbucks on their way home and meet him to exchange bags! Thanks guys! Anyway, we spent a pretty good while at the airport trying to find out about the bag and visiting with our loved ones, and we finally crashed about 1am. That was 8am Kiev time, so Greg and I (not having slept on the flights) had been up for 26 hours! I was literally the most exhausted I have ever been. So, we got home and the kids immediately crashed in their new beds...thanks, Starlette, Mary, Dana, and Carol for helping us out with that....and went to sleep. Greg and I showered and hit the bed too. He went right to sleep....I laid there, and laid there, prayed, and laid there...prayed some more, and laid there! Seriously, I slept a cumulative of about 3 hours last night. So, now I have slept 3 out of 48 hours...and now I am sick. Jackson is too! So, I am taking a sleep aid tonight and praying for good rest! Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we are adjusting to life together. Today has been a really good day with our kids and we are blessed....but, we are scared and overwhelmed, too! We just want to raise these kids as God would have us raise them! We love you all and can't wait to see those of you we haven't seen yet!
Anyway, we had very nice flights with all 3 boys. Ryan got feverish about 30 mins. post the blogging I did on Wed. night asking for prayer for him not to get it! Anyway, he was feverish about 4 hours into the first flight from Kiev to NYC (when the medicine wore off) and he stayed that way the rest of the journey home. I couldn't take any medicine because of those crazy liquid rules, so he basically slept the whole way. Philip and Jackson both slept a little on the last 2 flights. We got to the B'ham airport about 10:45pm and had a joyous reception by a wonderful group of friends and family! It was absolutely one of the best experiences of our lives! I just want to give a huge thanks to all of you who came to meet us....it was so, so, so much of a blessing to us! We left the airport after finding out another "Greg" had picked up one of our suitcases and left his there. So, Jes and Holly were kind enough to drive to Starbucks on their way home and meet him to exchange bags! Thanks guys! Anyway, we spent a pretty good while at the airport trying to find out about the bag and visiting with our loved ones, and we finally crashed about 1am. That was 8am Kiev time, so Greg and I (not having slept on the flights) had been up for 26 hours! I was literally the most exhausted I have ever been. So, we got home and the kids immediately crashed in their new beds...thanks, Starlette, Mary, Dana, and Carol for helping us out with that....and went to sleep. Greg and I showered and hit the bed too. He went right to sleep....I laid there, and laid there, prayed, and laid there...prayed some more, and laid there! Seriously, I slept a cumulative of about 3 hours last night. So, now I have slept 3 out of 48 hours...and now I am sick. Jackson is too! So, I am taking a sleep aid tonight and praying for good rest! Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we are adjusting to life together. Today has been a really good day with our kids and we are blessed....but, we are scared and overwhelmed, too! We just want to raise these kids as God would have us raise them! We love you all and can't wait to see those of you we haven't seen yet!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Hey everyone! It's 9pm here on Wed. night (2pm there) and unless something changes, this will be my LAST post from Ukraine! I can't believe it! I have been waiting for at least, um....., 5 weeks to say that! Hooray!!! We ended up staying in for the most part today because Greg ended up feeling worse last night and this morning. He has also been sleeping with 1 of the kids (rotating nightly) on a hide-a-bed that is pretty uncomfortable. Me and 2 of the kids have been in the much comfier bed in the bedroom. I have offered to change places with him, especially since he has been sick. He said I was too much of a "princess" and this "pea" was way too large! I really had to agree and knew that he would be the one suffering if I had to sleep on it! So, when I woke up at 7am, I came out to the living room and found him in the chair in his pants, sweater, boggin, wrapped in a snuggie! Not good! So, I sent him in to the bed and he was able to rest for about 2 hours. He got up and said he was much better and the fever had broken! Anyway, in case I haven't said it enough, I appreciate the man God has blessed me with so much! He is such a wonderful husband and father and I just wanted to tell you all how much I love and appreciate him! But, enough of the mushy stuff....he is better this evening...I think....he says he is anyway. And he isn't quite so pale! Please keep praying for him to continue to get better!
Philip hasn't had any problems today at all, Praise God! And so far, Jackson, Ryan, and I have stayed well, too! Praise God, again!
We did go out for a bit to just get some air and a little exercise. We ended up going to McDonald's for lunch. To give you a little background, we learned in our adoption preparation that kids who are brought home from an orphanage will often eat anything and will overeat, sometimes even to the point of sickness. They have eaten less than they need for so long, they don't know when to stop. Also, we were warned to watch what we give them to eat...for example, give them Ukrainian food or stuff like soups, potatoes, bread...until their stomachs have time to adjust. Fast forward to our kids who have turned out to be picky eaters. They don't even act like they like the Ukrainian foods we have fed them. So, we finally gave up and decided to try McDonald's today. Philip wouldn't touch anything but fries and Ryan ate 1 chicken nugget and a few fries. They will eat pretty much any fruit we have offered them, but too much fruit will also mess their stomachs up! Oh, they have liked kielbasa...that is what they have called the sausage, bacon, and ham we have given them. But, we don't really know what we are going to feed them at home, so please pray for us to all agree on food soon!
We have finished packing for the most part...only toiletries, a few clothes that are air drying, and the pajamas we are sleeping in! Someone, we aren't sure who yet, will be here at 8am in the morning to take us to the airport for an 11:10am flight to NYC. Please continue to pray for us to make it safely home! We have missed you all so much and can't wait to see you all!
Philip hasn't had any problems today at all, Praise God! And so far, Jackson, Ryan, and I have stayed well, too! Praise God, again!
We did go out for a bit to just get some air and a little exercise. We ended up going to McDonald's for lunch. To give you a little background, we learned in our adoption preparation that kids who are brought home from an orphanage will often eat anything and will overeat, sometimes even to the point of sickness. They have eaten less than they need for so long, they don't know when to stop. Also, we were warned to watch what we give them to eat...for example, give them Ukrainian food or stuff like soups, potatoes, bread...until their stomachs have time to adjust. Fast forward to our kids who have turned out to be picky eaters. They don't even act like they like the Ukrainian foods we have fed them. So, we finally gave up and decided to try McDonald's today. Philip wouldn't touch anything but fries and Ryan ate 1 chicken nugget and a few fries. They will eat pretty much any fruit we have offered them, but too much fruit will also mess their stomachs up! Oh, they have liked kielbasa...that is what they have called the sausage, bacon, and ham we have given them. But, we don't really know what we are going to feed them at home, so please pray for us to all agree on food soon!
We have finished packing for the most part...only toiletries, a few clothes that are air drying, and the pajamas we are sleeping in! Someone, we aren't sure who yet, will be here at 8am in the morning to take us to the airport for an 11:10am flight to NYC. Please continue to pray for us to make it safely home! We have missed you all so much and can't wait to see you all!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Hey friends! It's about 10pm or so Tuesday night here (3pm there) and we are about to hit the bed. Tomorrow is the first day of this entire trip that we have not had a single thing to think about. The boys are ours now and we even have their travel visas. We went to the embassy today to get the final visas and paperwork and ran into some folks we know from Birmingham who are also adopting. I won't mention names, since I didn't get their permission to do so....but, it was so wonderful to get to speak about 30min. of English with them. You don't realize how much you miss your language...and that gives us yet another thing to think about with our new sons! Anyway, since there is nothing pressing to do here tomorrow, we are gonna act like we are only tourists. So, we are looking into going to the local Kiev circus. We'll keep you posted on that...
But, Philip has been feeling better today. He has not had any fever and has been playing like before, so we think (and hope) all is back to normal for him. Thanks for all your prayers for him. Greg, however, is probably worse. He has developed a pretty yucky cough, which will be enjoyed by all passengers cooped up with him for 15+ hours on various airplanes! He hasn't felt quite as bad today because he wasn't feverish. But, I was able to get him some Augmentin 875mg (called something else of course!) and he started that today. Hopefully, he will feel better tomorrow.
I would like to ask you for prayers for both of us just for our emotional and mental states. This is without a doubt the hardest thing we have ever done and we are a tad bit overwhelmed. To top it off, my job is not secure right now and I am just on the edge. I had about 4 breakdowns with the final being tonight when I literally sobbed for about 5 mins. Greg was of course comforting me and I even got Jackson to crying! I hate that I let myself go in front of him like that...he is such a little worrier anyway. He did his best to make me feel better with a "massage"! Then Mary Margaret called me to tell me something about our work and I broke down again on her! I just never imagined how emotionally draining it would be to be away from almost everyone I love. Even with calls, emails, and blogposts, we just miss everyone so badly! And just the stress of 3 kids...all of them have spilled their drink at least once while eating out....is enough, much less without 2 of them not understanding us and the 3rd one asking us a thousand questions about why the 2 of them are doing this or that.....we are just a bit on edge. So, enough of my sob story....I just wanted to give you a little more details so you could lift us up to our Father. Thank God for His neverending love, guidance, healing, provision, leadership, saving grace, comfort, and mercy! And thank you all for walking with us through this wonderful, but stressful journey! We love and miss you all and will be blessed to get to see you in about 48 hours!
But, Philip has been feeling better today. He has not had any fever and has been playing like before, so we think (and hope) all is back to normal for him. Thanks for all your prayers for him. Greg, however, is probably worse. He has developed a pretty yucky cough, which will be enjoyed by all passengers cooped up with him for 15+ hours on various airplanes! He hasn't felt quite as bad today because he wasn't feverish. But, I was able to get him some Augmentin 875mg (called something else of course!) and he started that today. Hopefully, he will feel better tomorrow.
I would like to ask you for prayers for both of us just for our emotional and mental states. This is without a doubt the hardest thing we have ever done and we are a tad bit overwhelmed. To top it off, my job is not secure right now and I am just on the edge. I had about 4 breakdowns with the final being tonight when I literally sobbed for about 5 mins. Greg was of course comforting me and I even got Jackson to crying! I hate that I let myself go in front of him like that...he is such a little worrier anyway. He did his best to make me feel better with a "massage"! Then Mary Margaret called me to tell me something about our work and I broke down again on her! I just never imagined how emotionally draining it would be to be away from almost everyone I love. Even with calls, emails, and blogposts, we just miss everyone so badly! And just the stress of 3 kids...all of them have spilled their drink at least once while eating out....is enough, much less without 2 of them not understanding us and the 3rd one asking us a thousand questions about why the 2 of them are doing this or that.....we are just a bit on edge. So, enough of my sob story....I just wanted to give you a little more details so you could lift us up to our Father. Thank God for His neverending love, guidance, healing, provision, leadership, saving grace, comfort, and mercy! And thank you all for walking with us through this wonderful, but stressful journey! We love and miss you all and will be blessed to get to see you in about 48 hours!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Hey everyone! 9pm Monday here (2pm there) and I have been holding a sick little boy for about 2 hours! Philip was fever-free all day today, including at his doc appointment for his medical. We of course told the doc about his fever last night and he felt it is viral since there are no other symptoms. He said to just treat with Ibuprofen as we have been. But, today he had no fever and I thought things were okay, then tonight he sat in the chair and fell asleep right after his bath. I went over to him and he was burning up! It is absolutely driving me crazy not knowing what he might be feeling....it's like I have a 1 year old all over again in this instance because he can't tell me what is wrong. Anyway, we gave him more Ibuprofen and I just held him and he finally came around a bit. We are hopeful that he will rest okay tonight, but are wondering if we should see the local doctor that Lifeline uses for their adoptive families. Please pray for discernment for us and for him to be well! To top it off, Greg was feverish tonight too! Ugh! But, 800mg of Ibuprofen later and he is no longer feverish! Please pray for all of us to get well and to stay well!
On a good note, we completed the medicals without too much problems except a long wait. Then, we headed over to the Embassy for the beginning of the Visa. They did not approve of the photos of the boys the orphanage gave us, so we had to pack all our stuff back up and head out of the locked gates, get new pics made, then back through all the security to get back in. Jackson was a real trooper for all this, but was about at the end of his rope 4 hours later. So, we asked Andrey to take him to McDonald's and all was right in his world again! This afternoon, we went to lunch and to get a few more groceries since we officially are leaving Thursday. We failed to get the Wed. flight because we were supposed to "officially" accept the tickets 3 days prior to the flight. That would have been on Sunday. The travel agent did not realize this "computer thing" and did not tell Andrey to tell us. So, the decision was made for us as the tickets for Wed. increased even more if we were to buy them today! Greg and I are at peace with this because we think this will be a better route anyway....Kiev/NYC/Atlanta/B'ham. Unfortunately, we don't arrive until 10:30pm, so I know this may deter some of you that were coming to meet us at the airport. If so, we understand...if you still want to come, we will be thrilled!
Well, I will go and try to get the family settled for the night! We love you and miss you, but finally see the end in sight!
On a good note, we completed the medicals without too much problems except a long wait. Then, we headed over to the Embassy for the beginning of the Visa. They did not approve of the photos of the boys the orphanage gave us, so we had to pack all our stuff back up and head out of the locked gates, get new pics made, then back through all the security to get back in. Jackson was a real trooper for all this, but was about at the end of his rope 4 hours later. So, we asked Andrey to take him to McDonald's and all was right in his world again! This afternoon, we went to lunch and to get a few more groceries since we officially are leaving Thursday. We failed to get the Wed. flight because we were supposed to "officially" accept the tickets 3 days prior to the flight. That would have been on Sunday. The travel agent did not realize this "computer thing" and did not tell Andrey to tell us. So, the decision was made for us as the tickets for Wed. increased even more if we were to buy them today! Greg and I are at peace with this because we think this will be a better route anyway....Kiev/NYC/Atlanta/B'ham. Unfortunately, we don't arrive until 10:30pm, so I know this may deter some of you that were coming to meet us at the airport. If so, we understand...if you still want to come, we will be thrilled!
Well, I will go and try to get the family settled for the night! We love you and miss you, but finally see the end in sight!
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