Day 56- Kiev/Embassy Appt

We made it to Kiev- a little stiff and sore after the 8 hour train ride, and kind of sleep deprived...but happy to be one step closer to home!


Niko picked us up from the station and took us to our new apartment on Independence Square.  It's a great location, close to lots of things.  It's a studio, though- we have one room to sleep, eat, cook, and hang out in...which will make for interesting bed times, but we'll survive!  We're grateful to have a new home- but we were definitely spoiled in our last apartment in Kharkov :)


We went to the Embassy after a quick stop to drop our things off and freshen up.  We learned on our way that we weren't going to be able to get Zeke's medical appointment taken care of today, because he needs his passport for it.  That stinks, because it makes Monday a whole lot busier, and also adds a little more stress on the situation, because our flight home is booked for Tuesday morning.  Our big prayer is that we fly through the clinic and are cleared for his visa to be issued on Monday afternoon.


Our Embassy appointment was interesting...I didn't really know what to expect.  Basically, when you go in there, your facilitator can't go with you.  So you go in the door, and then you have to go through a security check point- metal detector, wand, and everything.  Then they scan your bags, and you have to turn in any electronic equipment you have- phones, ear buds, etc.  Also any cosmetics, lotions, lip balms... So, if you are going, just be prepared.  I'd have left a lot of stuff at home, or at least had it ready to hand over.  Instead, we were trying to keep an eye on Zeke, while rifling through the backpack for hand sanitizer and the 3 pairs of ear buds they saw on the scanner (why the heck am I carrying around 3 sets of ear buds??)


Then, we get back to the adoptions area, and we walk up to the window and the lady asks us how she can help us.  Ummm.  We'd like to take this guy home with us?  We had one form printed out- the I-600.  There was some miscommunication somewhere, though, because we were under the impression that we shouldn't fill out any of our paperwork before we got to the Embassy...and the lady behind the counter was a bit peeved that we didn't have all our paperwork done already.  AND we were also told that we didn't need his passport for the first appointment, but the grumpy lady said that she couldn't start the process until we had his correct name and passport number.  GAH!


Well, thankfully the grumpy lady became busy with another person, and we were handed off to another lady, who was MUCH nicer.  I filled out all our paperwork while Bryan earned his Dad of the Year points entertaining Zeke semi-quietly in a government office with an empty Coke bottle for 45 minutes.  The nice lady said that we could use a faxed copy of Zeke's passport if we could get it in before 4pm, and assured us that we could get Zeke's medical exam done Monday morning and still have time to get our 2nd appointment done the same day for his visa. 


Niko picked us up, and we called the lovely Tatyana, who faxed Zeke's passport to the Embassy AND scanned a copy to us so that we could get our flights finalized. 


We all took well-deserved showers and naps- amazing how much better you feel after a little soap and a little sleep.  Afterwards, we braved the Kiev Metro to try to save some walking time to get to dinner.  Unfortunately, Kiev's Metro is gigantic and near impossible to navigate with a 4 year old a lot bigger than Kharkov's, with a lot more stairs and an endless tunnel system.  We rode it one stop, then somehow backtracked and still were a half mile away from TGIFridays...(not much of a time-saver, really!)


And yes...TGIFridays- we had American food for dinner tonight.  Burgers and fries, quesadillas (the kind with a bunch of melted cheese in them- and served WITH sour cream!), chicken fingers and honey mustard sauce- oh MY!  No, we don't always eat like this at home, but it was lovely to have some familiar food surrounding us.  We are already planning our detox diet :) 


Z-man was loverly during dinner, with just a couple incidences of true 4 year old behavior shining through.  All in all, we are so impressed with the way that he behaves.  He sat, he ate, we colored the placemat, and maybe shoved 5 or 6 toothpicks into the crevice of the booth seat (shhh- don't tell!).  No meltdowns, no tantrums.  He's pretty freaking awesome.


Home again now, and he's sleeping peacefully on the pull out couch.  He took a good long shower before getting into his jammies and reading storybooks before bed.  It took us so long to get to these moments, and now every time we hear his little sleepy sighs from across the room, we are reminded of how incredibly blessed we are to be here right now. 

Good night, all :)

Day 55

We woke up to the sweetest little face this morning...at 8:30, BABY!  Zeke stirred just the teeniest bit this morning around 6am, but then turned over and fell back to sleep, contentedly sucking away on his thumb.  A couple hours later, he rolled out of bed, and sleepily walked over to our bed, and snuggled in under the covers with us.  Melt my heart!

Today is our last day in Kharkov, and it's really bittersweet.  We obviously want very badly to get back to our real lives, to be with ALL our boys.  But at the same time, gosh- we have totally made a little life for ourselves here...and leaving Kharkov means that Zeke says goodbye to his birth family.

We met his birth parents this evening for coffee at McDonald's (our plans to take Zeke to the playground fell through with the cold rain that started today).  Lily and Grig came up to the apartment with a ton of stuff for us.  They brought some incredibly thoughtful gifts for us, as well as some clothing and shoes for Zeke.  We had a really nice time- chatting through Tatyana, watching Zeke just be incredibly cute.

 Above- Us, Zeke, Grig and Lily.  Below- Tatyana, us and Zeke.

 And we knew it was coming- the goodbye.  I'm not gonna lie- it was hard.  Even though they know that he is going to a place where he will have a very, very good life...they are still saying goodbye.  Words just don't do it justice.

We finished packing up the apartment next, and Zeke fell asleep for a little bit.  The next thing we knew, we were dragging two months of our lives out into the hallway and into a tiny elevator- 2 suitcases, 2 duffle bags, 1 backpack, and 4 plastic Billa bags filled to capacity.

Valentin and Tatyana picked us up, and we met Nate and Diana and Babushka and Dedushka at the train station.  What a group we made- all 9 of us, hands full of bags, Zeke holding onto both of his grandparents' hands as we made our way to our compartment.

 Diana and I- we are so happy to have been crossed paths with her and Nate and her family here :)

We made it to the compartment- all 9 of us, still, playing this kind of tetris-esque game of fitting everyone in and out, hugging, and good-bye-ing all over the place.  

The most difficult part was saying goodbye to Zeke's grandparents.  We know that they hold a very, very special place in his heart.  It was emotional. Very much so.  

The good news is, even though it was a difficult goodbye, kids are resilient.  And by the time we started our journey on the train he was good as gold (and, btw, every time we say train, Zeke drops whatever he is doing to sign the word "train", and then "open doors" and "close doors"- like on the Metro.  So cute!)

Here's to 8 hours on the train, sharing a bench bed with this wiggly little dude.  Couldn't think of a better way to cross Ukraine :)

Goodbye, Kharkov.  It's been real!

Day 54- GOTCHA DAY!

September 28, 2011

Today you woke up in this bed, in the same room as 10 other orphans.

You gave us hugs and big smiles when we arrived, and the nannies helped change you into your new clothes.  Then you said goodbye to your friends, and to the nannies who have cared for you before we were here.

We had to hurry to see the main doctor of the orphanage before leaving...a warm man, who wished us well and thanked us, and gave Danya a very serious hand shake before we left.

We climbed into the car, still hurrying because we needed to make it to the passport office before 9:30am.  As we were leaving, Dedushka showed up, and after some words back and forth, ended up accompanying us to the passport office- it was Mommy, Daddy, Zeke, and Dedushka all piled in the back of the car for the ride.

We're so happy you had some more moments with Dedushka- you love him and he loves you.  It's going to be a hard transition for both of you, I'm afraid.  You didn't want to say goodbye when it was time for him to go.  No worries- we'll see him again tomorrow :)

We had lots of errands to do after that...here we are outside the bank (waiting!).

 

 ...and in the back of the car...waiting!  Valentin even got creative and showed you how to open and close the automatic trunk on the car- you thought that was WAY fun :)

 

 After all was said and done, we were all hungry, so Tatyana and Valentin dropped us off at McDonald's (where else??) for a quick lunch before nap.  You weren't thrilled with the burger or nuggets, but you definitely enjoyed the fries- especially with ketchup.

  

...but the ice cream sundae?  THAT was a different story.  Hands off!  No sharing!  Good til the last lick :)

 

We walked home (well, Daddy carried you on his shoulders for a good way) and made it to the apartment before the rain started.

We had time to Skype Ian before he went to school, and BOY did that put a smile on both your faces.  Ian was thrilled to meet you!

We laid you down for nap after this exciting morning, and Daddy laid next to you and watched you until you finally put your thumb in your mouth and closed your eyes.

When you woke up, you immediately wanted a bath- so we gave you one, bubbles and all.  You are so independent- making sure to scrub every part twice (and three and four times...!)

A healthy snack to supplementthe McDonald's french fries.

A little Signing Time with Daddy...you repeat ALL the signs and words :)

It cracks me up that you imitate Daddy so much.  He was sitting with his hands folded, and you looked over at him, and readjusted yourself so that you were sitting the same way.

It's time to start thinking about packing up the apartment.  And by packing, I mean "trying on all the clothes that you can pull out of our suitcases."

One last dinner with our friends here in Kharkov- homemade pizza at Nate and Diana's apartment, with Cara and Doug.  Zeke made fast friends with Diana (the only one that speaks his language!) and even volunteered to help her do the dishes :)  I was a little afraid of bringing you out on our first day together, but you were a total champ, charming, polite, and just an awesome little representative for all the little souls that need to be sprung from the orphanages here.

 

You decided that you love your lion, and danced around with him a bit before we convinced you to lay down in bed.

 Sleepyhead.  What a big day you just had. 

 

Happy first day of the rest of your life.  We love you so much.

...and the WINNER is...!

First...thank you SO MUCH to everybody who pitched in for us...from the little donations to the over-the-top ones, we know each one was made with love and support for us (all THREE of us, now!!)  We cannot begin to thank you enough for sacrificing for our unplanned "vacation" here in lovely Eastern Europe :)


And before I announce the big winner...if you donated $30 or more, I promised you your choice of hazelnut M&Ms or a yummy Ukrainian chocolate bar. Email me at lmaddex@gmail.com and tell me which you'd prefer (don't forget your mailing address, too!).  If you want a chocolate bar, you can choose from dark, milk, or white chocolate...or filled (strawberry, peach, tiramisu, coconut)...or with nuts (hazelnuts or almonds.  I think that makes it complicated enough.


Okay.  The moment is here!

Drumroll, please! 
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*
*
The winner of this lovely assortment of chocolate and upwards of a million calories is....

Ken P.!! 

Congrats, Ken!  We'll be in touch :)

Facebook

Um, yeah, so Facebook has been an awesome tool to help communicate with everyone...but they totally just suspended my account!!  I think it was because there was TOO MUCH LOVE coming through on all your comments- ha!


So, yeah- just email me, I guess...until you need me.  Or go through Bryan's Facebook and get him shut down, as well :)


PS- Gotcha Day is TOMORROW!!!!

Day 53- IT'S A BOY!!!!!

We just got out of court:  it's official!  The appeals court overturned the Kharkov regional court's decision, and made Danila a forever part of our family.

He is now (and forever will be) Zeke Danila Maddex!!  Praise.The.Lord.

Court was not in-and-out easy, but WAY less intimidating than last time.  Bryan and I were both able to speak from the heart, Tatyana helped us navigate through the legalese, and after the decision was made there were tears from me (AND Tatyana, who kept telling me not to cry!).  One of the judges wanted to see our photos of our visits with Danya, and she told us, "Good luck and God bless you."  I even got a hug from Valentin.  I think I said spasiba (thank you!) like a million times to everyone who helped us.

The judges granted our petition to make our adoption effective immediately, so we will be off and running after we pick up the official documents today at 2.  We hope to be able to pick Danila up on Wednesday or Thursday, and then be off to Kiev Thursday. 

Thank you, thank you for your thoughts and prayers, financial support and continued emotional support.

Day 52- Appeal Court Eve

We visited our boy today, took a walk with him to the "snack shack", where he had a conversation with the lady and I think ordered up his own cookie (we didn't have to say anything- just had to pay!).  We read stories and played the spider-hand game, then walked back in time for a donkey ride.  We watched Danila and his friends jump in the inflatable bounce house...and for the entire time, Danila had no idea that it might be his last time doing any of those things here...it's such a surreal feeling.  This is the end of this chapter for him, and he doesn't even know it.  Even more, he has no idea what is in store for him in the week to come!

 Today should be the last day that we visit with Danila as two people who want to be his parents.  When we see him next, we will be his parents...he will have three brothers, a room and a bed to call his own...a home and a family. 


It is extremely difficult to believe that tomorrow's court appointment will go through without any issues...we've been through too many ups and downs, faced too many unknowns, and waited too long to blindly expect that the judges will put their stamp of approval on our petition tomorrow.  However; we DO trust that this is where we are supposed to be, we have faith that God hears our pleas and knows our hearts.  So, even if we have to give our worries over to Him every 10 minutes, we do.


I went to a women's group meeting tonight (yes, I even found a small group in Kharkov!) and we studied the book, Calm My Anxious Heart, by Linda Dillow.  Um, yeah.  I don't even think I need to go further than the title to tell you how apropos this book is for my situation right now.  Honestly, I kind of didn't want to go tonight...I didn't sleep well last night, I was tired, and would have liked to lie in bed and watch some mindless tv before falling asleep early.  But it was my last chance to see some of my new friends before we leave, and I didn't want to miss that opportunity, so Cara and I bravely road the Metro to Diana's apartment by ourselves while Doug and Bryan had guy-time.


I know God places people in our lives for a reason.  I know that He aligns everything up perfectly.  I know because this evening with these strong, independent, compassionate, understanding, funny, tender, smart, and loving women was exactly what I needed tonight, as we teeter on the precipice of the giant, crazy journey. 

Thank goodness for His perfect timing!!!



Appeal court tomorrow at 9:40am (that's 2:40am EST for you insomniacs)...we should have the decision immediately and I will be FBing and Tweeting it from the rooftops!! Thank you for your prayers and your support!

Day 51

I'm not gonna lie, Sundays are lovely here, and I may miss the ability to sleep in until 10am, have a cup of coffee, and then leisurely head out to church.  A little.  I mean, yes, life is a thousand times better when we get to share it with our kids...but slow, kidless mornings do have their perks :)


We made it to Calvary Chapel for our very last Sunday service here in Kharkov.  I say that, and it still doesn't seen real...you mean we actually get to leave??  It's kind of bittersweet, because we have made a home here, whether we intended to or not!  We will definitely miss our church family here, and hope to continue to stay in touch with everyone.  They have helped us spiritually- lifting us up in prayer in and out of worship, emotionally- being our friends and family here in UA, and translationally (yes, I'm making that word up!)- helping us find our way around town, even translating via phone for the irate lady knocking at our apartment door who was trying to tell us that our electricity was going to be shut off if we didn't pay the bill!

My advice for future travelers:  get plugged into a church in region.  You'll be thankful for it, you'll grow from it, and you'll have a chance to bless back more people along your journey.  If anyone is traveling to Kharkov, we'll be happy to put you in touch with Nate and the rest of Calvary Chapel here before you go.

Today the pastor (Victor) spoke about intention and purpose in our lives, and how situations and people work to hone away our rough edges, until we are repurposed for His intentions.  I don't know, it just felt like I really needed that talk, to put our whole journey in perspective.  Never in a million years did I expect to put my whole life aside for two solid months in our efforts to bring Danila home, and I don't really know if going into this, if I knew that it would mean this long away from our kids, would we have done it?  Would we have been obedient to this calling?  I don't know.

What I do know, is that even though it has been rough- the waiting, the separation, the worry, the financial strain, the stress of everything weighing down on us...all of that will make going home as a complete family that much sweeter.  We will appreciate everything that we have just a little bit more, we will look at what we prioritize with new eyes, and we will see any obstacles in our way with a different perspective.

Anyways...all that heavy stuff aside, we celebrated our last Sunday here with the Laynes, Nate and Diana, Victor and Vika and their kids and Vika's brother, at La Cucaracha for some almost Mexican food (BYO Sour Cream style).  Good times.

Day 50

Slept in.
Ate McDonald's, used the wifi.
Watched The Village (crazy movie- did NOT see that coming).
Made spaghetti that "...was not disgusting."
Bryan and I are 2 and 2 in Rummy 500.
Another day down...!

The Big Chocolate Giveaway!!

Alrighty, everybody.  You knew this was coming, didn't you?  As we start our 8th week in Ukraine, we've had time to assess exactly how much money we need to finish up Danila's adoption.

I hate asking for money (again) but the reality is, we were fully funded for a 4-5 week trip...and now we're almost doubling that timeline.  We've been cautious with our spending, but we can only stretch our grivnias so far.

Honestly, we need about $4000 to cover the deficit that we have in our travel/lodging expenses and our household expenses at home.  Eeeps.

So here's the deal:


Ukraine has some really awesome chocolate.  We know, because we've been eating it the entire time we've been here (on an unrelated topic, my pants have shrunk)!  We've put together a bundle of our favorite European chocolate to raffle off:

For just $10/entry, you can have a chance to indulge!!  Just use our paypal chip in on the left side of the blog, or the link below to our family support page on Reece's Rainbow to get your entries in:

...But that's not all!

If you donate $30 or more, we'll set aside a chocolate bar OR a package of the coveted hazelnut M&Ms (your choice) for you, and send it directly to you when we get home- promise :)

This is going to be a fast and furious fundraiser...the lucky winner will be drawn Wednesday night (9/28) at midnight (EST). 

Thank you all for your support thus far...it's been a wild ride, and we can't wait to get home with all our boys.  We appreciate everything that you've done and continue to do to help us pay Danila's "ransom"-- thank you for helping us make a HUGE difference in his life.

I'll be posting this on Facebook and on our family blog (which is not private) as well, and it would be awesome if you could help share our fundraiser. 

Day 49=7 weeks!

Happy 7 week anniversary, Ukraine trip!  Oy!!

Today was a good visit with our little dude.  Things of note:

• Babushka called me "Laurishka"- which is a term of endearment :)
• Dedushka took Danya's hat off, then gave him the sweetest kisses goodbye before putting his hat back on.
• Danila didn't cry when his grandparents left him with us.
• We played modified-Memory again, and Danya remembered how!
• Balloon play again- SO funny!!!
• Danila devoured a cup full of little green grapes that we brought.
• He went on the slide without being coerced.

Danila threw a plastic rhinoceros outside of the fence, and we couldn't find it.  We looked and looked, and he was insistent about trying to recover it. Finally, we had to give up and go back inside the orphanage gates again, but Danya could not stop talking about the lost rhino.  (At least we think.)  Anyway, we recorded his little tirade about the lost rhinoceros while he was on the swing.  Notice the hand motions and the very forceful intonations.  Dude.  So freaking funny.  I see a career in public speaking in his future:

We're now out with the Laynes for dinner and wifi, enjoying possibly our last Friday here in country. It's nice to have friends here who don't care if you are on the computer during dinner.

Day 48 and APPEAL DATE

Breaking news!!  We have an appeal date!


It's not tomorrow, which I would have really really loved.  But it IS on Tuesday at 9:40am...the one that is in 5 days.


That means that in 5 days we will have the opportunity (again) to make Danila officially part of our family.  We are asking for favor with these judges, for the ability to speak from our hearts, and for an easy process from here until we all get HOME!


We are beyond excited about an end-date for our adventure...and an official start date for Danya's place in our family.

We are also a little bummed that this adds an additional week to our anticipated timeline (again).  But, it is what it is, and things tend to turn fall into place perfectly..LIKE: 

I thought that I was going to have to head home immediately after court to make it home in time for my Aunt Sue (who is the primary caretaker for the boys now) to get home to her almost-born grandbabies...but my mom happened to already have the week off from work so that she can jump in and I can come home with Bryan and Danila.

AND (this is a little complicated, so stay with me)- the boys are all 26 months apart, and we all have birthdays in the even months of the year; Ian is February, Chase is April, Gavin is June, Bryan is August, and I am December.  We always joked that our next child needed an October birthday to even everything out.  Well, Danila's birthday is in April, so that doesn't really work out..but he WILL officially be HOME in October :)

Day 48

We have not posted pictures of Zeke on here in a while so here we go:

 Zeke had a white balloon when we picked him up today. Speaking of which, we walked into his Groupa and he was already getting his outdoor cloths on. He did not see us at first but when he turned around and saw Laurie and I he got the biggest smile on his face, laughed and ran up to Laurie to give her a giant hug!  Love this little boy!

He wanted another balloon to blow up. I blew this one up and let the air "wheeze" out, he was a big fan.

Now of course it is Zeke's turn to try it. He figured it out on his first attempt.

We walked down to a little snack stand that is about a block from his orphanage. This is a view of the orphanage as you come down the street.

Apparently the lady who works the snack stand knows Zeke very well as she had a little conversation with him when we showed up, then produced these little wafer cookies that he loved!  Bonus: Only 1 grivna (not sure if that is the real price or the Zeke discounted price) 

Laurie was playing a game with Zeke while he was going around the marry go round, and still playing with his balloon (we were afraid that the orphanage workers would look down on us if he passed out while trying to blow this balloon up!)

So cute!  I had to hold Mommy's hand first before Zeke thought it was a good idea to hold out hands. 

He is such a little boy! They were looking at a bug. :)

Happy times!


Bryan