It's Been a Good Week

I can't believe that John and I have been home for over a week.  In some ways it seems like I just got home, but in other ways it seems like John has been with us for a long time.  For the most part, he seems to be adjusting very well.  He still is speaking in Russian, but is slowly adding English words like "bless you, thank you, hello, good-bye, more, all done".  Sometimes he calls me "mom" instead of "mama" from hearing what the other kids call me, which always makes me chuckle.  He also sings "Jesus Loves Me" several times a day and almost everytime when he is on our swing set.  We are glad he is sleeping through the night, but he only falls asleep if Paul or I lie down with him.  He is eating most of the food we put in front of him and he even had a few bites of pizza tonight.  He usually says "neeyet" (which means "no") and pushes the plate away, but after a few minutes he will pull it back and start eating.  He loves Chick-Fil-A, especially the fries, which we are going to visit often to put a few pounds on him.  We are having some challenges in getting him into the new routine, like changing his clothes in the morning or for bed.  When he doesn't get his way, he will say "neeyet", will turn away, fold his arms and pout.  We are ignoring this behavior and he usually changes his attitude in a few minutes.  He is affectionate and sweet and seems to be bonding to everyone in the family very well, including Sophie, our lab.  He checks on her throughout the day and gives her lots of hugs and kisses.  He likes taking her on walks and chasing her in the backyard.  Sophie has never gotten this much attention!

John can't wait for "Neecole", "Jeemmy", and "Scotch" to come home from school everyday.  He has met and played well with the kids in the neighborhood, but not for any long length of time.  I am trying to just hang out with him at home during the week so that he doesn't have to deal with more stress and changes in his life.  I did bring him to the pool last week, which he loved.  He asks me everyday if "Mama ee Vadeek sweem"?  There is a public pool in town that is very warm and shallow so he can splash around in it without my having to worry about him.  Thankfully he is trying to swim and is not afraid of the water.  He loves to wear his swim goggles around his neck everyday whether we are going to the pool or not.  I took him to the pediatrician last Wed. and he is in the 60th percentile for height and weight and doesn't seem to have any health problems.  He will also be entering a new program at Duke for internationally adopted children.  From what I understand, a specialist comes to your house for 10 sessions to help your new child and the family adjust to one another.  I go to Duke on Thurs. to have John evaluated and learn more about the program.  I am thrilled that he can participate in this and that it's covered by insurance:)  When I was hanging out with Nicole tonight, we talked about what adoption means and how God grafts us into his family tree.  Eventhough we are not in His lineage by birth, He, by grace, grafts us into his family tree and calls us His children.  We are so blessed!          

We Made It Home!!

We were picked up at 3:00 a.m. on Sat. and made it from Kiev to Frankfurt without any problems.  There were a total of six adoptive families flying back to the states on that flight, which made it fun.  We then arrived in Chicago from Frankfurt and were told in Customs that we would never make our flight.  It was boarding in a half an hour.  As soon as the man said that, it made me that much more determined to try to make it.  Once John was cleared through Immigration, we literally ran through the Chicago airport.  Unfortunately, a United employee had given us the wrong terminal number so we had to sprint through another two terminals to make it just as they were closing the doors to the jet way.  Praise God!  The next flight to Raleigh was diverted to Charlotte and didn't get in until 1:00 a.m.  Our luggage was delivered to us the next day.  John was so good on the flights.  He must have played with the head set he had been given for about an hour and the plastic fork and knife also intrigued him for a good 45 minutes.  I couldn't believe how he sat in his seat for hours on end without complaining!

We arrived to friends and family at the airport holding signs and welcome home banners.  I couldn't have been happier to see everyone.  My kids and our friends' kids had grown so much!  John was a little shy at first, but then warmed up to all of the children playing with balloons and eating lollipops.  It was fun to get to catch up with everyone a little bit.    

When we got home, there were balloons and a welcome home banner across the garage.  Paul and the kids had thought of everything.  They had gotten us flowers, presents, and even a welcome home cake with American and Ukrainian flags on it for dessert.  John was speaking non-stop in Russian.  We had no idea what he was saying, so we would laugh and laugh, which made him speak even more.  John was so excited to see and play with all the toys in the play room.  He also liked his bunk bed that he is sharing with Scott.  The biggest hit of all though was our yellow lab.  Sophie has a new friend!  He is enamored with her.

When we started this process we felt that God has been so gracious to us and we wanted to extend that to a child.  We have learned so much through this process and know that it has just started.  We have learned a lot about each other, our family, what family means, and more importantly the way God sees us through adoption into His family.  The Bible says in Ephesians 1 "In love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ".  We have entered into the family of God through His love.  God has called us His children.  We are able to call out to God as our Father, just as John calls out to me (Paul) as "Papa".  We aren't adopted because we are cute or likable, but simply because of God's grace.  I'm so glad He doesn't go through a checklist to evaluate us, but simply takes us into His family for who we are.  We know for sure that God has watched over us through this process and that He will continue to guide and protect us.

So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

In Kiev and Coming Home Tomorrow!

John (I call him Vadik, pronounced Vadeek, which is the nickname for Vadim) and I are at a restaurant this morning for breakfast and they have wi-fi.  I'm glad to get reconnected to catch up with emails.   We are staying with Karen Springs, aka Saint, who lives in Kiev and works for Orphan's Promise (I talked about her a few posts ago).  She had a friend come over and made us dinner on Wed. night when we arrived from Odessa.  They both spoke Russian so it has been a great transition for John.  Here's a photo from our dinner.  Yesterday we went to the US Embassy to submit our documents for his visa and for him to see the doctor.  Thankfully everything went smoothly.  It did take all day, but John was great in the car with traffic and a lot of waiting.  I hope he's this good tomorrow with all the flying.  He has had a lot of firsts!  He absolutely LOVES taking a bath.  I think he was in there at least an hour yesterday.  He also loves to use the toilet (thank you Lord) and to push to flush and to push the buttons on elevators (what kid doesn't?).  He sleeps like a rock and I get him up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and I don't think he even wakes up.  Last night we went to dinner at a woman's house that I met last Nov.  She works at the US Embassy and her husband is in the  US Army.  They have two girls, 5 and 9, so they were great entertainment for John.  When he is served food, he will fold his arms and not eat for a few minutes, then he will slowly start to eat everything on his plate.  Well, as I'm writing this, he's not touching his breakfast so maybe that's not always the case!  I hope he will make up for it at lunch.  We have one more hurdle today at the US embassy to get John's visa.  I can't believe we're almost done.  Our flight leaves at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow and I will be travelling with two American women that I've met here, which is nice.  Please pray that we would make our connections and get through Customs and Immigration without any problems. We get back to Raleigh at 5:00 p.m. and can't wait to see you all!!!

Made it to Odessa

Yesterday was a whirlwind, but we made it to Odessa as the passport office was closing at 6:00 p.m.  It started off by being picked up at 8:45 a.m. by a woman from Odessa who knew no English and her son who knew a little English.  They were hired by my facilitators to get the documents we needed and get me to Odessa.  We went to court and waited for the judge to show up to sign off on our documents, then drove to the Social Worker (who made the woman working with me run down the street to make photocopies...don't get me started about the inefficiencies of this country:).  We then drove about an hour to John's birth town and waited a long time there to get his birth certificate.  After that we drove very fast back to the orphanage where they were supposed to have all of John's documents ready.  Unfortunately, nothing was prepared so papers had to be filled out, copies made, etc.  We waited for two hours for the documents to be prepared. Finally, I was able to walk out the doors of the orphange with John - Yipee!!!!  Then we sped to Odessa and made it to the passport agency just as it was closing-thank you Lord!!!  John had never remembered driving in a car so he was silent most of the way to Odessa, just staring out the window.  He did point out the red and green traffic lights, which I assume he'd learned about at the orphanage.  He knew that red meant stop and green meant go.  Thankfully, a couple from the U.S. who are missionaries in Odessa, invited us to spend the night with them.  What a huge blessing that was!  We got dropped off at their awesome 100 year old apartment where they had dinner sitting on the table for us.  Their three girls, aged 10, 9, and 6 entertained John and spoke to him in Russian whenever necessary.  I was so happy they could help John  transition from the orphanage to the real world.  John slept like a rock and we got up this morning to breakfast and plenty of toys to play with.  We will go pick up his passport at 11:00 a.m. and then drive to Kiev where we will stay with Karen Springs who just officially opened her hospitality ministry, where American families can stay while they are adopting here.  I'm thrilled that we will be staying with her.  Please continue to pray for the last days of this process.  John still needs his physical exam and to get his visa, which means lots more paperwork!  Thankfully, all the things that Paul needed to sign and get notarized arrived in Kiev on Monday. We're almost finished and I'm so happy that I'm getting closer to going home!