Happy Memorial Day

We had all 5 kids, plus Steve home on the Friday night before Memorial Day. Here's some pictures from that night - we had a great time. We've been home 3 weeks and 3 days. We've made great progress. It's hard - very very hard. We know that God does not want a child to live as an orphan. We also know that following his plan, may cause us some pain and discomfort. It's especially wonderful having friends on this journey with us. We spent the night at the Lightner's (they brought Vadim home in December). It's great to be able to talk to others who know exactly what we are going through. What a blessing to have 5 other families right here in our area with kids from the very same orphanage.

People will ask why is it hard. Valerie and Randy Hall (who have adopted several teenagers and are in Ukraine right now adopting another child) posted this just the other day. I think it's a great explanation so rather than use my limited brain cells to come up with something original - I'm just going to copy what they said! Thanks for checking in. We're

From the blog of Randy and Valerie Hall http://www.hallfamilyadoption.com/
Gratitude! Yeah, sure!
2009-05-23

In our conversations, we often talk with people who presume that our adopted children would be very, very, very grateful to us for adopting them. It seems that this line of thinking is that the children would be so self-aware that they had been rescued from the orphanage life and rescued from a very challenging future. The truth is that we have rescued them from all these realities and much, much more.

However, don’t think for a moment that their gratitude somehow guides them to sweetness and perfect behavior. The gracious thoughts are not the leading thoughts. During the early days and weeks and even months, what we see is more like a fish that has been hooked and yanked out of the comforts of its home. Wiggling and flip flopping and confused about what just happened is one way to describe many of our moments during the early days of this amazing journey. These kids are survivors and they have to be strong to have made it this far…they have had to live a very self-surviving life trusting no one.

And then, just when you are worn out from all of the drama, one of them will say something that let’s you know it’s all working and worth it. There is hope. There is a bigger picture to all of this. There is a long term goal in the every day work…for each of God’s children to come to know His everlasting love for them and His purpose for their life.

home

Germany to Chicago

Kim and Sasha landed in Germany and the flight to Chicago took off a short time ago! The flight is over 9 hours and arrives in Chicago at about 11:11, or 12:11 our time! Then, after clearing customs they'll take United flight 7489 to Cincinnati! Scheduled arrival time, 3:22! Stay posted!

last few hours

We've decided not to sleep - why bother we're getting picked up in 3 hours. We had dinner with a volunteer from Sasha's orphanage and her boyfriend. It was a wonderful evening - this woman is amazing and loves our girl. She's so encouraging and speaks truth to sasha too. She told me "I pray always for sasha and you come. Your give her big hope." They then came over to our apartment for dessert and didn't leave till 11:30 ish. So we're going to pack. Sasha just said, before she hopped in the shower, "I so happy!" And she is. She's laughed all night. Wesley called on Skype and she screamed "WESLEY" before answering. She's got they skyping down real well.

Here's a little video from our dinner.

last day

Here is what we've been waiting for. And it has a beautiful page in it from the US Embassy that says she can come immigrate to US. As soon as she steps foot on US soil, she's a US citizen. She loves looking at her passport. Some friends came over - they were started calling this afternoon - thinking she was in US (guess they don't know her phone won't work) and I could here them screaming when she said "kiev" A couple came over and they have been sitting outside our apartment. Very sweet girls.

I told her she needed to decide what she was going to wear on the plane, as I want to pack everything else. She of course wanted to wear the outfit she's worn the past several weeks (I have been washing it every night since she moved in) but didn't last night and if I wash it tonight after she gets her PJs on - it will still be wet when we get picked up at 3AM - that made her mad, but I got out the outfit that she wore for the first several weeks we were here and asked about that - and she said "yes" - then laughed. I just folded it up and laid on shelf in her room. WHen I went in there later I saw she had it all laid out on the bed (including a clean bra and underwear).

Okay - I'm going to go buy my last bottle of water here in Ukraine. Am not going to buy toilet paper - it's going to be close, but if we're frugal I think we'll have enough to last us TEN MORE HOURS until we get picked up for airport. Oh my gosh - I just counted TEN HOURS - that's not long at all. And I didnt' sleep last night so don't expect me to be talking in full sentences when I get home. Actually since I've been talking mostly to her these past few days I speak in very short phrases: Go eat?, You sleepy? Toilet? Computer please. Eat pizza?

Okay - I can do this only 10 hours. And in 13 hours we should be sitting on plane. Ooops that doesn't add up cause we're getting picked up 2 1/2 hours before flight. Oh well, not long,

Oh - and Jenny and David have a court date - woohoo. Court is on THursday - which is VERY QUICK so now Jenny can get back to her babies at home and David will stay here with their 3 in Ukraine! Very cool

We have her US VIsa

Just got back from picking it up. Sasha is still sleeping. All we have to do now is pack and get to the airport. We'll come through customs in Chicago so should be a quick exit from plane at CVG. Beth will be tracking our flights and will update.

We had a really good night last night. When Sasha got back to apartment she was very disappointed that we weren't leaving today. I said "no america tomorrow." and her little chin started to quiver. I immediatly said "tomorrow tomorrow America" but I don't know what she thought for that instant - maybe we weren't going at all? We went out for pizza to her favorite place. At the way there, in my low brain capcity state, we passed two guys speaking English. I didn't even notice - and sasha said "Kim - speak english they." So I stopped and listened and said to Sasha, "I LOVE English." She laughed and said "And I love America." She walked a bit more then said "and I love Ukraine - two loves" Yep - that sums it up! But she's ready. Her friends that came back to apartment were sad. Sasha had her moments the other night, when she thought it would be last night with them. Last night - she was very happy.

She said maybe when she and Zhenya are 17 (are you ready Beth?) she and Zhenya will come visit Ukraine for the summer to visit friends and Sasha's brothers. I said we had today where we could visit again - and she said "I goodbye today. I no goodbye tomorrow." I think we are going to shop for a backpack for her so she can carry some of the electronics on her - so I'm not so loaded down.

Thanks for your prayers as we head HOME to our houseful of kids and dogs and who knows what else.

Really really close

Thanks to Beth for posting. We are so close.... all that's left is tomorrow morning I go and pick up her visa at Embassy. She's totally processed - we're just waiting for her fingerprints to be processed in the states. We WILL be home on Friday. Arriving at CVG around 3:22 on United! :)

Met all kinds of wonderful people at US Embassy this morning. Lots of adoptive parents all very anxious to get out. I was sitting in a chair getting kind of teary eyed looking at all the US stuff on the walls - and I looked and the lady next to me was crying looking at me.... and she said "so do you think you're going to get to go home?" that's just how it is at the end. There were about 9 families there while I was there and I don't think anyone got out when they thought they would. People were talking about how much extra they would pay for each hour earlier they could get out!

Sasha entertained several of the newly adopted little kids. I heard her say "Kentucky" over and over to them. Several of them were saying they were going to New YOrk - but turns out many are taking that direct flight to new york - none are actually going to live there - funny.

This afternoon I sat in the embassy for 1 1/2 hours hoping her visa might get processed. I had NOTHING to do, so I read my passport all the way through THREE times. Did you know that they have the state emblems on each page of the passport - but they move a little to the right with each page so by the time you get to the end of the passport, all state's emblems have been displayed at least once - very interesting. As they were all finished with Sasha, I took her outside and Igor got a cab for her so she could go to orphanage one last time. But actually now that we're not leaving till Friday, we could go tomorrow too.

Jenny and David are making great progress too. We just chatted and spent several minutes trying to determine what day of the week it is. David was thinking Thursday, so I was thinking that might be right.... luckily my computer has the week day on it so we were able to figure it out.

Lots of funny stories on how stuff got done today - but I'm too tired to write and it probably wouldn't be funny to you since you are still operating on full brain capacity. And don't know why I'm tired since I've spent most of day sitting....

Thanks for your love, support, prayers.... we're coming home. Thank you God!

Yea! She has the passport!

Just spoke to Kim. She has the passport!!!

They are at the medical office waiting for results and then heading back to the embassy. Things look good, but anything can happen over there so please keep praying for medical results, fingerprints and visa info to come back in time to process out quickly. I'm sure Kim will have more info and post later with details.

Thanks for your continued prayers! We love you Kim and Sasha!

Beth

Not today

But supposedly the passport is done but by the time it was "in" there was no one there to give it out (so my question is how do they know it's there if no one was there to give it out - probably there is only one person who has that job and they had already gone home for dinner....) We have an early pick up (8:45 - I think) and if we can pick it up we'll have a super busy day.

The BBQ was fun - we actually cooked meat in the woods.... (I didn't eat thank you - but I did have a couple tic tacs - chewed one, then sucked on the other). Very difficult for sasha leaving her friends. These were all school friends (6 girls and 3 boys). Super nice kids and I loved that when it started getting dark their cell phones were ringing with mamas calling them home. We stopped by one of her good friends apartment - her mother is very very sweet.

She's in the shower - I need to tend to her when she gets out.

Okay your challenge today - if you see something that starts with P - pray for passport, V pray for VIsa, M pray for her medicals, S pray for my sanity....

Jenny and David were reunited with their kids today - talked to them a couple times and it sounds like things are going great.

it's Tuesday

UPDATE: Our faciliator feels confident that we will get passport today. She said she wants me to go home as much as I want to go home. That kinda made me laugh... it just sounded funny. If that happens we will be home for the KY DERBY (no I'm not going - I just want to be home by saturday). Sasha said she wants to move in - so she's on her way here with her stuff. She also wants to have a "BBQ party" at the orphanage tonight. Now what does that mean. I have no clue where to find a pig and if I did how the heck would we roast it - and open flames with all those wild and crazy kids/?? I'm hoping we're just going to pick up some food like chips and stuff and have a BBQ! Sasha wants to go shopping for the stuff with me. So there you go....


here we are shopping. All kinds of street vendors - reminded me of Tijuana but a lot more expensive. I think we look a little bleary eyed in this picture - or at least I do.

They have all kinds of little shops like this on the street - David was really brave and went and bought a coke light here. We were very proud of him - even though he really looked like an American with his backpack and khaki pants

YOu can see what a good hostess I am - my guests are on the computer. Actually they are right back from thier SDA appointmnet updating thier frineds. We were also commenting on each others fb and blogs, but decided that was kind of weird.

And it's a business day in Ukraine so something might happen. Really praying for a passport. If we get it today, we should have no problem getting finished up at Embassy and home on TH or F! Oh that would be nice.

Not many exciting pics from yesterday. Jennifer O said she likes Jenny and David's pics better than mine - really Jennifer? I'm hurt. David and jenny had a great appointment yesterday, picked up their referral in the afternoon and jenny called about an hour ago and they were will on the way to their kids! Can't wait to see pics!

Yesteday Sasha come over for a little bit in the morning. When she got here she wanted to play on the computer. WHen she sits on the couch - I have my spot on the end, where I have a table to put my drink and she sits practically on top of me. As she was playing on the computer she laid her head on my shoulder. It was a sweet moment. Later Igor took her to passport office for something- never quite sure what but it was progress. Sasha spent the night at the orphanage last night. I was told Ilona is going to orphanage today to process her out... not sure what that means either.

Yesterday Jenny, David and I hung out here at my apartment for a while, went to Oliva's for lunch, sat on a bench on the tree lined street and skyped thier kids before school, walked through some stores and looked at some pretty crazy high heel shoes (We did not buy), hung out in my apartment some more, went to SDA to pick up referral, went souvenier shopping, hung out in their apartment for a while.... WHile at JEnny and David's I emailed my friend Beth and I must have sounded pitiful cause by the time I walked back to my apartment (which is about 30 minute walk) I had TONS of emails from friends at Crossroads. Obviously she did a mass email saying I was losing it, threatening to dye my hair harsh red like most of the women here.... thanks beth.

Jenny and I talked yesterday about how the uncertainty is the hardest. You never know what might get done, or not get done, each day. You have no clue (really NO CLUE) when you might leave or how long you'll stay (I just said the same thing in two different ways didn't I?). You talk about trivial stuff for LOOOOOONG periods just stretching the time out. We have a very long conversation about are tic tacs hotter when you suck on them or bite them. Seriously we did. Then we realized how nuts it was and started crying.... then we started talking about what a beautiful day it was. Cause we were trying to stay focused on the positive. And we are SO THANKFUL that God has blessed us with tons of sun.

It's been so fun hearing from you guys. It's nice to hear from home. Going to go to grocery now - out of water and laundry detergent! And while I do that I"ll be praying for passports. Hey as a challenge, how about every time you see something that start's with a 'P' - you pray for Sasha's passport too. Then if we get it today - tomorrow everytime you see something that starts with a "v" you can pray for a visa! :)

Monday - will progress be made? let's hope so.

Yes you are at right place - this is picture of prom. Have had several requests for prom pics. The really fun part about prom - Carter's date, Erin, is really good friends with my niece Carrie (who of course then is Carter's cousin - duh- but also a good friend of Carters!) They all went to prom together - so she's in the prom pic with Carter and Erin.

David and I discussed putting pictures or text first in blog - so today I'm mixing it up - just for fun. David had noticed that I put text then pics....




Talked to Igor about 30 minutes ago and he was at SDA with Jenny and David. Jenny called this morning and they were up and ready to go. Sasha is on her way back here so Igor can pick her up and take her to her appointment at passport office.

Had a very fun time with Jenny and David yesterday. Hung out here at apartment then took long walk down that beautiful street with trees in the middle. I've walked that street a couple times since I've been here - it's just good to get out. We also went to a beautiful garden/park and walked around - David led us around (and we appreciated that David). Lots of blooming trees. It was really crowded and there were lots of families. Jenny and I were talking about how you get in your head that no one here takes care of their kids cause there are so many orphans, but that's just not true. You see many parents lovingly tending to their typical little kids. Well, typical except for fact that even on a 70+ degree day they've got them in hats, and coats.... I still don't get that. Is there blood really thin or something?

Then we had dinner at Marios - a really nice place that is about 1/2 way between their apartment and mine. We all got back to our apartments before dark and Jenny even called to say they were doing wash - their first load in Ukraine (hey that was big news for me.)

Jennifer O - in response to your comment I am brushing my teeth every day but haven't been shaving my legs. I might do that just to give me something new to do.

I'm thinking about wearing lip gloss today. Just had a granola bar for breakfast instead of instant oatmeal and have already made my bed (twice - I didn't like the way it looked the first time!) Thanks to mom, Kris and Beth for all the prom pics - I've shared one here.

Thanks for all your emails, comments.... I had many many funny ones this morning. Some made me laugh out loud. Good luck Rachel - (she has a big exam today!) and Wes as he prepares for finals at UK!

I am so thankful to have had Jenny and David here this weekend. We've said a million times we just can't believe we are here together. The picture with me and Jenny - not quite sure what we are doing with our hands - we actually decided on the placement. Talked alot about what to do with our hands - I think we should have discussed it a bit more.

have to go now - I have two glasses to wash and trying to decide if I should display my new People magazine on the coffee table or on the shelf under the coffee table. I'll try both places and see how it "feels!" Oh and I need to find my lip gloss.. maybe I'll just not wear it.

Trip 2 Day 6

Had a wonderful weekend with Sasha. She's been extremly happy and even though she went back to the orphanage to get her phone charger, she charged her phone but never turned it on. She loved smelling her clothes that were all freshly washed this morning. We've talked about all kinds of stuff and she's counting the days to go home. I can really see her separating from life and people here. That has been interesting to watch. I think she's really allowing herself to believe that this is it - she's got a family and she's moving to America.

The other night she was playing on Carter's Ninentendo DS (thank you Carter) and was real proud to show me the screen where she had typed in "Sasha Faith Botto" where the player enters their name. Then she turned it back around and I figured she was just playing, but she was typing some more. She had typed. "my family rachel wesley carter sasha anastasia mark kim and lucy" She didn't spell everything exactly as we do - but it was easy to read what she had typed. Oh and Lucy is the dog - not another kid! She was very proud of her list.

Jenny and David are coming over soon - yippee. We have a very big day planned :) Love hearing from everyone back home. We loved looking at pictures of Erin, Carter and family for the prom. Sasha thought Carter looked "big good" (that means really good). I also noticed that Mark planted flowers in the pots on our porch - thank you that is so sweet. I think Anastasia helped

Would really love to type more, but I'm very busy. David and Jenny forgot to bring ice trays, so I'm making ice so I can share one of my trays with them. And the wash just finished so I need to hang out the clothes. Oh - and I have a dirty glass and one dirty spoon to wash..... I think I might brush my teeth again too - but maybe not. I'll think about that some more and access how much toothpaste I have left...

All snuggled in after her shower, in her new pajamas, watching a Russian DVD. I sat by her and watched The Office (season 3 - hilarious) while she watched her DVD. When you have limited language that's a pretty good way to spend time together!

Friends in Kiev

Weekends are rough cause you know NOTHING is going to happen that will get you any closer to home. So it was so WONDERFUL to have Jenny and David arrive. I tracked their flights all morning - and was so happy to hear David's voice as they were leaving the airport. Sasha and I were hosted by them in their apartment. We brought a pizza as a little housewarming - and a roll of toilet paper too! Not enough room here to go into all that Jenny and I have been through together over the past years and how she has encouraged me and Mark- so it's especially great to have her here. I love David too! :)

They will be leaving to go to the region where their 3 kids are (to add to thier 3 at home) on Tuesday morning so we're planning on having some fun before they leave. HOpefully by the time they leave, Sasha and I will be busy leaving too - to go to US. But while we're here together, we're doing the happy dance (and to be honest - we're doing some crying too cause we do miss home) and praising God that he sent two chicks from KY (and David too) on a mission to Kiev at exactly the same time.

Sasha and I had a really good day. She let me wash her clothes tonight. THat may not seem like a big deal, but these kids have had to be so independent and for some, including Sasha, they have had to play the adult role in some family situations. She's always looking out for me (making sure I stop when the light is red at crosswalk, ordering for me in restaurants....) so it was nice to be able to do for her. Typically at this age, as parents we're trying to get our kids to be more independent, but when adopting an older child, we celebrate when they lean into us as parents. So even though she'll still have that same beautiful hoodie on - know it smells wonderful! After she washed her hair, I could also tell that she's done some work on it in the week we were gone! Interesting....

Oh and on the washing - she put her own clothes in the washer after her shower (cause washer is in the bathroom) and guess what - she left a red pen in the pocket of her pants. So the first load of wash I've done for her - came out with red specks on everything - oops.

Carter and Erin are going to prom tonight. Beth has already emailed me some pictures from my front yard - thank you Beth. Sasha was skyping with Zhenya, so Sasha and I got to see Erin before she even left her house. Looking forward to more pictures.

Okay this picture looks kind of goofy - we were intentionally posing like one of those formal pictures, but we all have our heads tilted in different directions. Sasha took the picture.



Sasha went back to orphanage to get her phone charger today. When she came back she had flowers for me. Very sweet. We ate out at her favorite pizza place. She likes to order for me (they don't have ENglish menus there). We had a great time at dinner. Talked about a whole bunch of different things. ONe of her favorite singers is having concert in Kiev on Monday - we're going to try to go with some kids from orphanage. Have to figure out how to get tickets.

Night night

Well, she's all tucked in with her new pink pajama's on. She said she didn't need pajamas when I showed them to her - but a few minutes later she came out of the bedroom with them on modeling them.

Earlier, she was talking about how Ukraine pizza is better than American pizza cause she likes thin crust - which got us to talking about her birthday party this summer that we had at the swim club with pizza. I asked if she'd like to do that again (with a thinner crust pizza!)- and that pleased her. Then later in day we were skyping with Beth and Zhenya (who came home in December), Sasha invited Zhenya to her birthday party in August. She is a planner. Zhenya was all excited about coming to the birthday party again. It's crazy to think that where these kids were last summer at the party (orphans) and this year they'll be part of a family. The girls talked for a really long time - they kicked me and Beth off. Zhenya even took the computer to another room and sent me to my room - which is funny cause we can't understand much of what they're saying anyway. How cool is it that Sasha will have Zhenya and Anastasia when she comes home that she'll be able to talk to?

When we were looking at cars - she does love cars - I said that I liked Toyota and she said "Yes, I know - toyota, toyota, toyota, toyota" (We have 4 toyotas!) Then she said how now she is small, then did hand motions for her getting bigger - then she said toyota five times - cause she wants a toyota too when she gets bigger! Geeze, I hope I'm not still driving my beat up toyota van by the time she gets a car!

We talked about all kinds of options of stuff to do tomorrow. She couldn't decide, but tonight before she went to bed she said she'd like to go shopping for clothes. Amen - love that jacket that she wears EVERY DAY, but would love to have a back-up so we could maybe throw that in the wash!

Okay - going to bed and dreaming of passports and Visas and being in Kentucky for the Kentucky Derby.

The picture is of her skyping.

today's update

The office is still not open but they accepted our paperwork. The "machine" that they need operational to get the passports is turned off for inspection so there's no begging that will get it done. But Sasha has an appointment at 10am on Monday to do something (have no clue what - that was lost in translation - but it's something they need to process passport) The lady at office "promised" we would have passport at 7pm on Tuesday. We'd then go to Embassy first thing Wed for fingerprints, then to medical center for medicals, then back to embassy to apply for visa. Often they can get this all done in one day, but it is kinda pushing it. If we can get it done - we'll get home on THursday. If we have to go back to Embassy on TH to finish up, we can come home on Friday. If there's a delay - we're sunk, cause the US Embassy is closed on Friday and Monday for a Ukraine holiday (they close for US and Ukrainian holidays).

Like I've said before I've told Sasha she could stay at orphanage as long as she wants, but she called Ilona today and asked if it was okay if she spent the weekend with me. Ilona said "of course, she's your mom." She was very excited when she got here. We went out for pizza and a little walk, then have been hanging at the apartment. We skyped with Wes and Rachel - she thought that was fun. Talked about cars she likes. WE saw a car like Mark's and she pointed that out as Mark's car. So I said "I miss Mark" - then fake cried. She said "I miss America - all!" And fake cried too.

SHe's made tentative arrangements to have dinner with the volunteer we met yesterday at orphanage - on Monday. Sasha said she thought she would still be here with me on Monday night.

We're going to play some video games, maybe watch a movie.....

Keep praying for that stinkin passport. I really want to go home next week.

the office might be open

so prayers that we can submit paperwork for passport would be greatly appreciated. And please pray that once submitted it's turned around quickly - Saturday passports would be wonderful. She's mine now - so can't leave country without her (and don't want to of course!), but can't leave country with her without her new passport. Feeling good, listening to some good free Crossroads downloaded music (www.crossroads.net).

Please also pray for our friends Jenny and David. This morning they'll be saying good-bye to their three home grown kids and will be getting on a plane to come over here and fetch their three Ukraine grown kids!

thanks

While you're praying here's some pics from yesterday to look at.

Here is one of the rooms for the girls. The bed in the foreground is Veronika's. ONe of her old roommates, Zhenya sent her a shirt for a gift. You can see it on Veronika's bed. The bed in the background is Zhenya's. It's empty - Zhenya doesn't sleep there anymore. Zhenya is tucked in bed all safe in sound in a bright pink (really bright) bedroom in Ohio. Yesterday Zhenya was sick, so her mom stayed home from work with her. I talked to Zhenya yesterday, she was getting lots of loving and special attention. She was all excited that her big sister is going to a dance this weekend - with Carter (our son). I'd love it if every single bed in that orphanage looked like Zhenya's bed - empty!

I brought a letter and some goodies for Luda from her new penpal. She has a 10 year old pen pal in America. Luda was so excited - read the letter, then immediately sat down and started writing a letter to her new pen pal with the stationary and one of the pens included in her package. She worked on the letter for a very long time.

Sabina has a pen pal in the US. They sent her a photo album with tons of pictures from my last trip. She was so surprised to open it and see pictures of herself. She went through it and showed me every single picture of her (I guess maybe she forgot that I was the one to take all the pics!) Then she had a bunch of extra pictures included in the back of the album so she passed those out. The kids all wanted to show me the pictures of themselves. Luda finally said "kim take photos" and kind of rolled her eyes - like why are you guys showing her these pictures like she's never seen them!

The girls. See Lida with the plastic bag on her head - she's bleaching her hair. I can't wait to see the finished product
Sabina and Veronika. Veronika made sure I got lots of pictures of her - as Zhenya (who was adopted in December) had requested more pics. If only we could get Sasha to be that enthusiastic about pictures. But my mother keeps reminding me that i was not very compliant about getting my picture taken either. Oh well.

Sasha and a volunteer at the orphanage. I've been so impressed with the number of volunteers at the school just hanging out and loving on these kids. When we adopted Anastasia we did not see one single volunteer the whole time we were there.



Zhenya and Oleg with some stuff from friends in US.

Fun day with Sasha

Had a great day with Sasha. She hung out here at the apartment for a few hours, then we went to the orphanage to deliver some stuff to the kids. I posted a bunch of pics on facebook Might post some here in morning. WHen we got to the orphanage most of the girls were in dance class so Sasha and I hung out with Luda. That was really fun. Luda invited me to spend the night at the orphanage - I wish they would let me. Luda also fixed me a cup of tea. In the two months that we were here for Anastasia's adoption and the 4 weeks I've spent here so far on Sasha's I have NEVER drank the tap water. Don't even brush my teeth with it. But I could not pass up her sweet offer - so she made me some black tea. She asked if I wanted sugar - then she looked in the sugar bowl and made a face and showed me - UGHHHHHHHH - much worse than drinking tap water. So I took mine plain.

When the rest of the girls finished dance they came and hung out with us for a while. They wanted me to take LOTS of pictures. LOts of crazy posing - I think that's from all the teen mags they like to read. Lida was bleaching her hair with a bag (like a Kroger bag) on her head. That was interesting. Say Zhenya the boy - adorable as always.

Unfortunately - fun at the orphanage - was the most productive thing that happened today. Apparently the office at police station that processes passports is shut down for an inspection and we all know that over here they could not possibly do two things at once (like get inspected and do a little business). Read that last line with a real whiny and sarcastic voice! We don't know how long it will be shut down. It's been closed since Tuesday, I'm being told and we have no idea when it will reopen. We're praying for tomorrow and would love it if you would too. Then when they open - that it be processed in lightening speed. Okay - you can roll your eyes when talking about lightening speed in Ukraine. i did when I just wrote it! RIght now the earliest we will get home is Tuesday. Going to miss Carter's prom :( But he's going with one of my best friend's adorable daughters and in a group with my neice, so Beth and Kris I'm counting on your for pictures - I have our camera here!

Sasha was talking about " tomorrow, tomorrow home?" (which means Saturday - count it folks). She started doing this to count time and tell us days cause she can't count in English or say days of week in order. So I said no, "tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow maybe home" - which would mean Tuesday. To which she says "NO - five days??? Tuesday???" So I"m kinda wondering why we're still doing the tomorrow, tomorrow..... We talked about when she's going to move in my apartment. She has told us that she wants to spend as much time as possible with her friends so I've told her she can stay in the orphanage as long as they will allow. She said she wants to be here and there "two places I like." I love that she can articulate that. She did say she definitely wants to stay here the night before we leave. Seeing as how we have a 5:30am flight - that's a good thing. She'll probably need to move in before that.

Today she and Luda were saying thier names so I videotaped it. I never tire of hearing her say her name. Thanks for checking. Here's hoping I have some real progress to report tomorrow. But I will say that getting invited to spend the night at the orphanage, having Luda fix me tea and spending some one on one time with Sasha made for a very good day.

Oh - and someone knocked on my door tonight. Igor (one of the team here) had called earlier asking if I had water in my apartment cause someone's apartment was flooded). So I thought maybe it was somebody about that. I looked thru peephole and there were two guys in the hall. I started to answer, then called Igor. He said never open door to anyone you don't know. I'll be so glad to be back in good old Fort Thomas where we leave our doors unlocked (when people go in their door here you ALWAYS here them lock it when they get in) and a 4-year-old can answer the door... And don't worry - I'm safe. There are TWO doors (the outer one is metal) and THREE locks on my apartment and the outer door to building has lock too (so the guys in the hall were probably legit, but I'm living by Igor's rule and not opening the door).

picture from this summer

My sister, Leta just sent this. It's a pic from this summer, right before Sasha had to head back to Ukraine. We were over at Aunt Leta's for Elliott's (Sasha's cousins) high school graduation party. I remember she had such a great time that day hanging out. Won't be long and she'll be back on that deck!



Right now I'm waiting to here what's going on - Sasha is getting her passport picture today. So I'm just chilling. I think we're going to hang out a little around here today while we wait for stuff to be processed.

Interesting thing on different cultures. On the plane ride from Frankfort I sat by a really nice lady (30ish) from Ukraine. She asked why I was going to Kiev and I told her short story of how we had adopted Anastasia at 10 and were now returning for Sasha. About 30 minutes later she said "can I ask you a question?" Then she proceeded to ask - "why do you adopt adults?" And I'm like - huh, what, 10 and 15 years old? And she said, "yes at those ages, they are really ready to take care of themselves and be on thier own, so I'm wondering why you need to adopt them." Really - hmm. This is really a pretty common perception over here. When kids are 10 - they get to decide if they want to be adopted or stay in the orphanage. We thought this was crazy when we adopted Anastasia. Everyone kept telling her - this is your decsion. YOu are old enough to decide this on your own. Really? Back at home, she can't even decide what classes to take in 8th grade without us signing off on it. I mean look at this picture - this is not the face of an adult ready to live on her own.

On the other hand - my seatmate from Chicago to Frankfort has 5 bio kids and 4 foster kids and lives in Germany. They stay in relationship with thier foster kids forever cause he says kids never grow out of needing help and support from a parent. I really liked his way of looking at things!

Day 2 Trip 2 Kiev

Great day. Went to two offices – and left with Sasha’s new birth certificate (with her brand new name and her brand new parents - that would be us). Got her tax ID number (often takes days to get this), picked up her old passport at the orphanage (need this for her new passport) then hung out a bit at the orphanage. Tomorrow we’ll work on getting passport.

I saw Sasha for first time today this trip. Went to the dorm and she wasn’t there, but Luda called her on phone. Sasha was in cafeteria, so Luda and I went outside to wait for her. Sasha ran all the way to the dorm, which was really sweet. She’s counting down the days. Mark and I had each written her a letter, since it’s a little hard to communicate more than simple thoughts. Big thanks to Oksana for translating them for us. She was sweet reading them. There weren’t many kids at the dorm, so Sasha and I had a quiet time just hanging out.

Tomorrow she’ll get her picture taken for her new passport. Just hanging out in apartment tonight – watching DVDs of “the office” and “Arrested Development” (thank you Dave Little and Jason Eads).

We need to get her passport tomorrow if we have a chance at getting home this weekend. But even if we don’t get home this weekend (which would be super quick) we’ll be home by middle of next week. She was counting down the days – she said “tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow home. Your home (then she thought for a minute and smiled) MY home!” She was wearing a pair of pants that she got from Rachel – I think that’s the key to getting her to try some new outfits.

Thanks for the prayers today.

Back in Kiev

I (Kim) arrived here early this afternoon but after retrieving luggage, waiting for landlord... it was 4ish by the time I got in apartment (same one os last time). It's nice to be in a familiar place. Went out for dinner, took a walk, and went to store for water and "coke light."

Flights were good. Had some interesting seat mates.

Ilona has picked up court decree, so that means it's a done deal, no one contested the adoption during the 10 day wait, so now we just have a whole bunch of paperwork to do. Ilona has started some stuff and will pick me up early (before 8am) to get started tomorrow. There is a possibility we could be home as early as Saturday (arriving around 3pm). We have tenative flights booked for Saturday. I was thinking about staying an extra day to get to be in Kiev with Jenny and David, who arrive on Saturday, but I already miss the kids at home. Also, talked to Sasha and she's ready to go home too!

When I called her this afternoon - she said "hi kim" like she always does. We had a nice little chat about when we might be going home, what i'm doing tomorrow (paperwork)... at end I said, "call me if you want to talk" - and she said "okay mom" First time she's called me that - don't know when she'll do it again - but I'm celebrating it. Anastasia started calling us mom and dad in the airport in Amsterdam on the way home to US - after being with us for 2 months in Kiev. Later she told us that until we had actually left Ukraine, she didn't really believe that she was actually going home with us. Once we were in Amsterdam, she figured she really was part of our family, so felt "safe" calling us mom and dad then. It might take Sasha a lot longer to call us mom and dad on a regular basis. In her world, mom and dad does not represent anything positive. We're working to change that.

Oh I brought two bags - one was 49#, the other 49.5# (the limit is 50#). Lots of stuff for the kids - thanks all of you who dropped all kinds of fun stuff off. The gate agent was very impressed on how close I cut it on the weight!

I'm going to unpack and go to bed. THanks for checking in and praying for Sasha. She excited about a family - but really has no clear understanding of what being a part of a family, especially ours, will be like. Something she has to look forward to - NINE cousins in Fort Thomas (and others scattered around in KY, TN and SC). Here's the "cousins pic" from Easter. I think this one is hysterical. Just when we got them all "posed" the younger boys discovered some eggs - and they bolted to get them! Sasha's going to have lots of fun with her cousins. It's a very wild and crazy crew.

Vadim and Anastasia

It was so weird, but really great, to be at the orphanage without Vadim. Vadim was a very good friend of Anastasia. She told us all kinds of stories about things they did together when they were in the orphanage. While we were in Kiev, Vadim was a Disney World with his family, going to the Middle School in our area, and riding his bike around town. Today Vadim rode his bike to our house (since he lives just less than a mile away) He and Anastasia are making some yummy treats with canned milk we brought back from Ukraine, watching a movie, looking at some of the Russian kids' books we brought back - and basically just doing the stuff that kids do. Pretty soon his mom will call and check on him and he'll go back home. They'll both be kissed and tucked into bed by their parents - they might even mess around a little with their siblings before bed. Now that's the way it's supposed to be!

Home

Mark, Anastasia and I arrived home on Saturday - and were so happy to be greeted by our 3 kids in the US! We've talked to Sasha a couple of times. She's ready to come home. When talking to her on the phone Friday night, she said if we would just let her come to America now, she'd run to the airport in her pajamas and leave everything else in Ukraine. We let her know that this is Ukraine's rule, not ours. I'll head back to Ukraine next week to finish up and bring her home.

Our good friends Jenny and David leave for Ukraine on the 24th so there is a good possibility that we will overlap a day or two - how fun will that be? Jenny and David are adopting THREE kids (and they already have three super adorable kids at home). There won't be much to report on this week ... we're both back at work and Anastasia is back in school. The time change is making me feel a little crazy (no comments on my typical crazy...) Thanks for praying for our girl as she waits for us to come back!

Day 21 - Court and saying good-bye

Well it’s official – but we have to wait 10 days before it’s really official! Everyone at the hearing agreed that it was in Sasha’s best interest to be adopted by us. But in Ukraine they make you wait 10 days to pick up the official court decree so we can get busy getting her a new birth certificate and passport and get her home. I’ll be back on the 21st to finish things up and bring her home. We get picked up in a few hours to fly home.

Sasha did great in court – and Beth did a great job reporting what happened. The stuff she said in court was precious – and Beth already reported on it below. Saying good-bye at the orphanage was tough. I’ll be back in a week so the girls were making all kinds of plans for stuff for us to do and fun things for me to bring back with me. We couldn’t find Viktor – that was hard for Anastasia not getting to say good-bye to him. Zhenya came up to say good-bye. That was very hard. He hugged all three of us and just stood there looking at us. He knows I’m coming back in a week – but he wanted to know how long would I be there before I left again.

Luda wanted me to count out the days till I would be back (maybe cause I’m bringing her stickers and gum). The art teacher came up to see us and asked us to come to the art room. She is a sweet lady who knows a little bit of English. She said Sasha was “very good painter,” but the last few weeks (and she pointed to her head) – and said not in Ukraine. Then she pointed to her head again – and said Sasha “head” in America. We can’t wait to have her body there too!

We went over the calendar several times showing her when we’d be back. She walked us out to the street to wait for the cab. She stood there and waved as we drove away – with her little chin quivering. That made me and Anastasia start blubbering in the back of the cab – okay we were already blubbering before that. We watched her till we were out of sight, then the cab driver did a U-turn and we passed the orphanage gate again. She was still there watching.

The kids in the orphanage were very excited for Sasha. But you could see it in the eyes of many of them - why her and not me? Anastasia doesn’t understand why someone doesn’t adopt them all. We asked her who she would really want to get adopted – she named every kid there. Our prayer has been that this orphanage is empty – that every kid there comes to know first hand what it’s like to be part of a family. That is still our prayer.

Here’s some pics from today.


After court. Ilona our facilitator is on back row. The orphanage attorney is standing by Mark.

One of the orphanage workers was yelling at the girls to get busy raking the grounds. Sabina hid behind Mark. Some of the others thought that was a good idea so they did it too. I wish each of them had a daddy to hide behind.

Luda - she was playing all kinds of pranks on us today. But she was sad to see Anastasia go.

The girls were adorable today - and WILD. They were all sort of giddy. Don't know if it's because they were excited for Sasha. Veronika was even yelling out the window at Mark as we walked to our cab.


Sasha and Zhenya love soccer. Sasha was showing off her pictures of Angela Healy - a friend who used to be goalie at NKU. Look at the difference in the looks on Zhenya and Sasha's faces.

Saying good-bye to Zhenya. This was very very difficult. Anastasia has known Zhenya longer than she has known us. This kid is an amazing kid. I hope he gets the opportunity to be loved and and encouraged by a family.

Sasha Faith Botto, it's official!

Just talked to Kim. All went beautifully!

They arrived at the coffee shop about 1.5 hours early. Sasha had something to tell Kim right away. She had been thinking.....she said that for the first month in America she and Anastasia would ride over to the Laskey home so that Hannah could help her with her homework! This girl is adorable!

On the way into the court room, the attorney, who served as the representative from the orphanage thought Kim looked a little worried. (Kim says that’s because she ran out of conditioner 2 days ago and her hair is curly whacky! And, she couldn’t sleep last night.) She touched her arm and said, “Do not worry. I will say all the right things.”

Sasha was asked if she wanted to leave because she had no hope in the future of the Ukraine. Sasha replied, “No. I want to go to America because that’s where my family is!” Sasha told the judge that she had always wanted a family, the Botto’s are her family and she loves them. Sasha and Anastasia were looking at each other, each getting a little emotional, which made Kim cry, which made the two girls laugh! Court was over in 45 minutes and Anastasia has called her nothing but SashaBotto since then! They had the same judge we had who was very nice.

There was supposed to be a delay in getting the court decree due to a Ukrainian holiday but Ilona pushed and pushed (what she does best!) and got a promise to have it ready a day earlier than expected. They did try to get the judge to waive the 10 day wait but got no response. :( Good try!

When they got back to the orphanage the art teacher called them into the art room. She told Kim and Mark that Sasha was a very good painter up until the last week. The art teacher pointed to her head and said, “In last 2 weeks, Sasha head in America!”

Praise God! Just a waiting period before Sasha is in America!!!

Thanks Kim and Mark for the inspiration that you are to everyone who follows your journey! It's a privledge to call you friend!!

Love Love Love
Beth

Day 20 - but who's counting!

Here's some pics of our visit to the orphanage today.

Sergey and Viktor. They greeted us as soon as we arrived. Sergey is Yaroslav's brother (his pics are below) See all the white stuff on the curbs and trees in the background. Apparently they recently touched things up. Yesterday, I was sitting on the curb and Oleg said, "Keem, no no no!" The kids thought that was pretty funny.

Grandmother gave Anastasia some crackers so she's sharing them here. That's one of the things that always blew us away about these kids- they have so little but so freely give stuff away. I'd love to know what Anastasia and Sasha are talking about here.

Yaroslav pretty much ignored us when we first arrived in Kiev, but has been hanging around alot this past week. He turns 16 next month, so his chances of being adopted are slim. Initially he acted like he was too cool for us and would even tease Anastasia. It's been sweet to see their friendship develop. Also, it shows how much just showing up day after day is important in building those relationships. He actually seemed curious about why we kept coming around - now he's the one to start goofy games or just come over and sit down by us.

Yaroslav and Anastasia listening to each other's music, while Maxim looks on.

Anastasia taking a break. They had been playing tag and it gets pretty wild and crazy.

Viktor wasn't around when we left for the playground - and I was disappointed, but he showed up about 20 minutes after we arrived.

Maxim moves all the time. He likes it when we watch him climb up this plank.

"little" Zhenya. I don't know him that well, but he's started following us around this week. I think he has a crush on Anastasia.

This started out with Sasha showing Mark how she would escape if someone attacked her. Mark got her in a couple holds, then Sasha would escape - or sometimes not escape. She thought this was hilarious. Then Mark started the game where you try to hit each other's hands. For those of you adopting - this is a great way to get some eye contact and physical contact with you kids. As you can see, Sasha thought it was fun.