The ten day wait has passed with no objections so as of today Tonya and Joe are legally the parents of three beautiful children. While they aren't on the way home just yet, we all let out a big sigh of relief today. What a blessing for our entire family!
The weather has been very warm and Tonya and Mom have been making the most of the past few days trying to see the sights of Kiev. They are both headed home to the USA tomorrow. Raleigh is slated for thunderstorms so I am hoping that they don't experience any delays. Tonya and Joe will return around the 10th and we are all looking forward to the next homecoming with children in tow!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Ukranian Tourist
All is well in the Ukraine. Mom is enjoying being a tourist and Tonya the tour guide. The last few days have been cold and gray but today the sun popped out and they had a beautiful day to sight see and visit the shops. Tonya has decided that since nothing more can be done until after May 9th that she will return home with Mom on Monday and then she and Joe can return together to pick up the children. They have let Oksana know the plan and told Vitali and Dima's care givers. Ramon has promised to provide updates on the children until Tonya and Joe return. While it is hard to leave the children I think that Tonya is very much looking forward to the comforts of home. Hopefully she and Joe can get rested and refreshed before they head back for round two of the Ukranian paperwork process.
Here is part of the e-mail from Mom:
We just got back from a day being tourists. Walked a lot just looking at buildings, went in two churches, walked down the Chimney Rock of Kiev. Instead of shops there are just booths along the streets. Art work, paintings and a lot of textiles. If anyone has any requests speak now. Also had tourists must haves, postcards etc. After lunch we met Ramon by chance and while chatting with him some man stopped to ask directions. Turns out that he is from Calif.
Here is part of the e-mail from Mom:
We just got back from a day being tourists. Walked a lot just looking at buildings, went in two churches, walked down the Chimney Rock of Kiev. Instead of shops there are just booths along the streets. Art work, paintings and a lot of textiles. If anyone has any requests speak now. Also had tourists must haves, postcards etc. After lunch we met Ramon by chance and while chatting with him some man stopped to ask directions. Turns out that he is from Calif.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Easter in the Ukraine
Joe is back home but busy catching up on things at work, things around the house, and enjoying his Mom's delicious home cooking, so I (Rachel) am resuming blogging duties for now.
From the e-mails they have sent it sounds like Mom and Tonya have had a great week visiting with the children. I think that a visit from Mom and a suitcase full of goodies from home have been very refreshing for Tonya. Her e-mails this week have been more positive and her humor has returned (at least for the moment). They have made friends and shared dinner with an Italian couple who is also there to adopt. They are both professors at a college in Milan. While hanging out at the hotel Mom decided to measure the room and reported that it was about 9 by 9.5. There are 27 inches on one side of the bed and 25 at the bottom and other side.
They have enjoyed playing outside with the boys and got some alone time with Vitali today when he was not allowed to go outside because of a slight fever. It is great to get e-mails from Mom about how all the children on the playground refer to Tonya as Vitali and Dima's Mama and how both boys generously give and receive hugs.
It is Easter in the Ukraine so they prepared Easter baskets for the children and for Oksana's friends that usually accompany her during the visits. I think that between all of them they can piece together enough English to communicate pretty well. Usually when they meet with Oksana, the girls practice saying words in English and then apparently get tickled every time Tonya or Mom try to say the words in Ukranian. Yesterday's visit was a fun break from the normal English lesson. I am going to paste an excerpt from their e-mail below:
Mom writes:
"All five girls were there and Tonya had taken there Easter goodies since we are off to Kiev tomorrow. They seemed pleased with all the chocolate but not very chatty. Then Oksana, Ula and Lila had to leave to shower and we thought the visit might be over but Oksana said stay. When they came back we were going to take a picture which led to them looking at all the pictures on our cameras, and by the way they can name almost everyone in the family from looking at Tonya's album' which led to taking more pictures. We just turned the cameras over to them and they spent a least an hour posing and snapping. A fun time was had by all. We all laughed at each others pictures and the girls were all over the hall taking pictures. When the girls were looking at the pictures in the albumeverytime there was a picture of Elizabeth they always said ohhhh Elizabeth. Babies touch hearts no matter what language or age."
Tonya Writes:
"Mom is ready to start a hosting program in NC. We are going to visit the boys in the morning and take their Easter bags. They each get a "machina", car, chocolate bunny and a couple sticks of gum. We leave for Kiev at 12. I have informed mom that it does not matter what time we arrive we will immediately be going to McDonald's. I think all the girls liked their Easter bags. Lasia ate all her candy immediately. Ula put hers in the window, but kept making frequent trips to her bag. Oksana, Yeva and Lila saved theirs. Mom has been wondering about their spiritual teachings. Ula had gotten out a bible right before we left and was reading it."
Now regarding the current timeline: Mom and Tonya are planning on heading to Kiev tomorrow so that Tonya can show Mom around the Capital for a few days before she returns home. At this point it appears that the Ukranian government will be shut down from April 26-May 4th. I think that Tonya is seriously considering flying home with Mom to catch her breath for a few days and then she and Joe will return together on or around the 5th to hopefully complete this process and come home with their children!
One funny tidbit that I have to include about Mom's plane ride over (which isn't going to surprise anyone that knows her). While on the plane Mom of course befriends the person beside her who turns out to be a Vice President for Merrill Lynch, he speaks six different languages, and his current client is the country of the Ukraine. When they got off the plane he personally escorted Mom through customs and helped her with all her paperwork.
I am not sure if Tonya will blog from Kiev tomorrow or not but one of us will keep you posted.
From the e-mails they have sent it sounds like Mom and Tonya have had a great week visiting with the children. I think that a visit from Mom and a suitcase full of goodies from home have been very refreshing for Tonya. Her e-mails this week have been more positive and her humor has returned (at least for the moment). They have made friends and shared dinner with an Italian couple who is also there to adopt. They are both professors at a college in Milan. While hanging out at the hotel Mom decided to measure the room and reported that it was about 9 by 9.5. There are 27 inches on one side of the bed and 25 at the bottom and other side.
They have enjoyed playing outside with the boys and got some alone time with Vitali today when he was not allowed to go outside because of a slight fever. It is great to get e-mails from Mom about how all the children on the playground refer to Tonya as Vitali and Dima's Mama and how both boys generously give and receive hugs.
It is Easter in the Ukraine so they prepared Easter baskets for the children and for Oksana's friends that usually accompany her during the visits. I think that between all of them they can piece together enough English to communicate pretty well. Usually when they meet with Oksana, the girls practice saying words in English and then apparently get tickled every time Tonya or Mom try to say the words in Ukranian. Yesterday's visit was a fun break from the normal English lesson. I am going to paste an excerpt from their e-mail below:
Mom writes:
"All five girls were there and Tonya had taken there Easter goodies since we are off to Kiev tomorrow. They seemed pleased with all the chocolate but not very chatty. Then Oksana, Ula and Lila had to leave to shower and we thought the visit might be over but Oksana said stay. When they came back we were going to take a picture which led to them looking at all the pictures on our cameras, and by the way they can name almost everyone in the family from looking at Tonya's album' which led to taking more pictures. We just turned the cameras over to them and they spent a least an hour posing and snapping. A fun time was had by all. We all laughed at each others pictures and the girls were all over the hall taking pictures. When the girls were looking at the pictures in the albumeverytime there was a picture of Elizabeth they always said ohhhh Elizabeth. Babies touch hearts no matter what language or age."
Tonya Writes:
"Mom is ready to start a hosting program in NC. We are going to visit the boys in the morning and take their Easter bags. They each get a "machina", car, chocolate bunny and a couple sticks of gum. We leave for Kiev at 12. I have informed mom that it does not matter what time we arrive we will immediately be going to McDonald's. I think all the girls liked their Easter bags. Lasia ate all her candy immediately. Ula put hers in the window, but kept making frequent trips to her bag. Oksana, Yeva and Lila saved theirs. Mom has been wondering about their spiritual teachings. Ula had gotten out a bible right before we left and was reading it."
Now regarding the current timeline: Mom and Tonya are planning on heading to Kiev tomorrow so that Tonya can show Mom around the Capital for a few days before she returns home. At this point it appears that the Ukranian government will be shut down from April 26-May 4th. I think that Tonya is seriously considering flying home with Mom to catch her breath for a few days and then she and Joe will return together on or around the 5th to hopefully complete this process and come home with their children!
One funny tidbit that I have to include about Mom's plane ride over (which isn't going to surprise anyone that knows her). While on the plane Mom of course befriends the person beside her who turns out to be a Vice President for Merrill Lynch, he speaks six different languages, and his current client is the country of the Ukraine. When they got off the plane he personally escorted Mom through customs and helped her with all her paperwork.
I am not sure if Tonya will blog from Kiev tomorrow or not but one of us will keep you posted.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Joe Back to US; Peggy to Ukraine
On Thursday, April 17, Joe spent the day returning to the US. On the same day, Peggy (Tonya's Mom) travelled to Kiev to soak in the Ukraine "experience" and provide a much needed familiar face to Tonya (now a Radamashel refugee).
Both Peggy and I reached our respective destinations on time and without incident - unless you count a harrowing 20 minutes that I spent looking for my passport when passing through US customs (the passport had fallen into a virtually hidden and inaccessible section of my carry-on bag).
I am now enjoying western food and a soft bed - and feel more than a little guilty that Tonya is not here to share them with me! I will just have to endure the guilt pangs and put on a happy face...
Here are a few recent communications from Tonya and Peggy:
April 18 - 1st Mom Visit
Just back from visit with boys. They are very handsome young men and cute kids. Very excited to see Tonya. We spent the time outside, Matthew Dima and I played with the soccer ball and Ty will be happy to know that he loved kicking the soccer ball. Everything seems to make him happy and his laugh is contagious. Wendy will be happy to know that both give and receive big hugs. Jason Vitali is very curious about everything and going to need a nice sand box. We also will need a bike for Matthew Dima.
Basically what Mom is saying is that they will need everything. We came away with tracings of feet that Mom will bring back with her. Matthew Dima's cloths are "medium" - not sure if this is American medium or something else. One of the little girls had on the purple camouflage "My Little Pony" outfit we had left at the orphanage the other day. Mom also got to meet Lyda Oksana and a few of her friends (Yeva, Lesia and Eula) when they were outside on a break between classes. We saw a notebook where Lyda Oksana had been practicing her English. The funny thing is that the phrases were written in Cyrillic and she said them aloud in English. We are going to go back again this afternoon to see her again. Debbie cakes were a big hit with the boys as were the "machinas" (hot wheels cars) as Matthew Dima calls them. Mom also got to meet the orphanage Director and to see one of Jason Vitali's fits (complete with foot stomping and lots of noise) when we were headed back in. Hope everyone has a good day - very nice but windy here today. Tonz and Mom
April 19 - Saturday With The Boys
Good morning. We have already visited the boys this morning - they get so excited when they see Tonya. All the other children say "Dima, Vitali Mama." Fun to watch. Matthew Dima practiced writing again. He used the ABC book and copied from it. He is very neat and shows Mama everything he does. Proud of his work and likes the praise. Jason Vitali spent most of his time playing in the sand. He likes to dig in the dirt so may be a good gardening partner. I try to look at the houses as we pass but it is very hard. Do not want to be staring too long but there is a lot of detail to look at. Some places are old but some are new or remodeled. Same with the cars and scooters. And we have seen several horses pulling wagons. A blending of the old and new. Despite the warmth of the day they still bundle the boys up like it is freezing cold outside. RR (Radamashel refugees)
That's all for now. Send all good thoughts to Tonya and Peggy. I will monitor the Radamashel chatter and try to update the blog daily.
Joe
Both Peggy and I reached our respective destinations on time and without incident - unless you count a harrowing 20 minutes that I spent looking for my passport when passing through US customs (the passport had fallen into a virtually hidden and inaccessible section of my carry-on bag).
I am now enjoying western food and a soft bed - and feel more than a little guilty that Tonya is not here to share them with me! I will just have to endure the guilt pangs and put on a happy face...
Here are a few recent communications from Tonya and Peggy:
April 18 - 1st Mom Visit
Just back from visit with boys. They are very handsome young men and cute kids. Very excited to see Tonya. We spent the time outside, Matthew Dima and I played with the soccer ball and Ty will be happy to know that he loved kicking the soccer ball. Everything seems to make him happy and his laugh is contagious. Wendy will be happy to know that both give and receive big hugs. Jason Vitali is very curious about everything and going to need a nice sand box. We also will need a bike for Matthew Dima.
Basically what Mom is saying is that they will need everything. We came away with tracings of feet that Mom will bring back with her. Matthew Dima's cloths are "medium" - not sure if this is American medium or something else. One of the little girls had on the purple camouflage "My Little Pony" outfit we had left at the orphanage the other day. Mom also got to meet Lyda Oksana and a few of her friends (Yeva, Lesia and Eula) when they were outside on a break between classes. We saw a notebook where Lyda Oksana had been practicing her English. The funny thing is that the phrases were written in Cyrillic and she said them aloud in English. We are going to go back again this afternoon to see her again. Debbie cakes were a big hit with the boys as were the "machinas" (hot wheels cars) as Matthew Dima calls them. Mom also got to meet the orphanage Director and to see one of Jason Vitali's fits (complete with foot stomping and lots of noise) when we were headed back in. Hope everyone has a good day - very nice but windy here today. Tonz and Mom
April 19 - Saturday With The Boys
Good morning. We have already visited the boys this morning - they get so excited when they see Tonya. All the other children say "Dima, Vitali Mama." Fun to watch. Matthew Dima practiced writing again. He used the ABC book and copied from it. He is very neat and shows Mama everything he does. Proud of his work and likes the praise. Jason Vitali spent most of his time playing in the sand. He likes to dig in the dirt so may be a good gardening partner. I try to look at the houses as we pass but it is very hard. Do not want to be staring too long but there is a lot of detail to look at. Some places are old but some are new or remodeled. Same with the cars and scooters. And we have seen several horses pulling wagons. A blending of the old and new. Despite the warmth of the day they still bundle the boys up like it is freezing cold outside. RR (Radamashel refugees)
That's all for now. Send all good thoughts to Tonya and Peggy. I will monitor the Radamashel chatter and try to update the blog daily.
Joe
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Let the Waiting Begin (Continue)
Below is the update from Tonya. It goes into a little more detail than I did yesterday. I have been sending Tonya and Joe e-mail's about how this experience parallels being on the TV show "Survivor". Well this episode is the one where you receive the visit from a loved one at home. Mom will arrive in Kiev today and Joe's mom is picking him up from the airport today, so both will get their much needed hug from home. The thing that continues to amaze me about this process as I read other peoples blogs and journeys, is that every experience is somewhat unique. We can't wait to welcome home the new additions to our family, but I think we all had ideas in our heads that this process would be a little more "warm and fuzzy" than it has turned out to be.
I just checked the flights and Mom's plane has touched down and she should be at the gate! Here is Tonya's update.
" So, as I have some airport time to kill (it is 12:45 and we got here at 8:00, mom gets here at 4:15 - the time is going surprisingly fast) I thought I would update the blog info. I wrote 12 pages in my journal about yesterday but I will try to keep it a little shorter for this.
I think the appropriate title for this is "Let the Waiting Begin (Continue)"
So, we had court yesterday ( Aprill 16th) among other things. All in all a pretty full day.
Court was scheduled for 1:00. Ramon came to Radamashel about. 9:00 to go to the Inspector's office because he needed to get official stamps on some copies of paperwork that the SDA requested. This is paperwork that the SDA does not normally request - but remember Joe and I are not doing this the easy way, that is not our way. This will become even more evident later on. Anyway we basically only got to keep our court date yesterday because Ramon promised to bring the officially stamped copies back to the SDA the same afternoon - 9:00 today is when he actually got them to the SDA as he did not leave Radamashel until almost 7 last night.
So court...
We get to the court - I will have Joe post a picture of the building as well as the courtroom - a little before 1. The other participants arrive shortly after - Inspector (I) and the Orphanage Representative (OR), thr Director' second in command. My fvorite thing about the entire court experience is that the Judge was running around in her slippers (pink!). She was appropriately robed and shod when court started.
Courtroom does not seem to be a busy place as the room was opened specifically for our hearing and closed again afterwards. (You just have to see the picture). They did not even turn the lights on.
Entire court presence:
Joe, myself and Ramon
Inspector
Orphanage Representative
Court Recorder - pencil and paper, no machines here
Judge and 2 other court witnesses
Town Prosecutor
Before setting out for court we asked Ramon what kinds of questions we would be asked and he said none really because this is just a formality. He wasn't exactly correct - I refer back to the difficult way!
When the procedings started there was a lot of reading by the judge of required documents, people present (each of us - including the I and OR - had to stand and identify ourselves and say our birthdays), our rights as petitioners, and other stuff like that. Then the judge says there will be a few questions - 20 minutes later we moved on. The questions ranged from "how many rooms do you have in your house?" to "Will you be able to give these children the love they need?" There were plenty more and if I was not typing this on Joe's blackberry at the airport I would type more.
Aside: I just spent the last hour at the internet cafe in the airport trying to use my school e-mail to send the message instead of the crackberry. Pretty much all I could do was look at messages and delete some - sending did not work. There is something about Wake Counties e-mailsystem that is very difficult to use out of town.
The I and OR then gave their statements approving the adoption petition. There ws some more reading of stuff and then the judge says they will be going out to debate for 15 - 20 minutes. 15-20 minutes later they were back and the judge starts to read a two page, front and back statement, word for word that basically says says the court approves the petition and now we have to wait for 10 days to see if anyone objects. Court adjourned.
Ramon wanted to say a few follow-up words to the judge just to get clear when we could pick up the paperwork and where the new birth certificates need to be made. when he is finished it is now 3:30. Our 20 minute court date took two and a half hours.
We now head to the orphanage to see the Director. Of course she was not there - so 15-20 minutes more waiting. (Ramon has told us that Ukrainians are good at waiting because during the Soviet occupation they had to wait in line for everything) Director was in a very chatty mood. I will not bore you with those details but it was after five when we left.
It is at this point that my anger for the day really takes off. Ramon tells us that he is still waiting to hear about our apartment in Kiev. Why are we still waiting? Why wasn't the apartment booked last week when we told you we were going to need it on Wednesday.
I will skip all the sordid details, but in the end we stayed in Radamashel because there were no hotel rooms or apartments available in the entire city of Kiev. You all know my penchant for having a plan and making preparations ahead of time. So, when the men (sorry men for the stereotyping but this is such a man thing to do) do not try to get an apartment until the day of this is what happens. So, Joe and I leave Radamashel with Nikolai at 6AM to get him to the airport because he is going home for a week or so and mom is taking his place.
Here comes thing two that almost puts me over the edge.
While we are waiting to hear about the apartment we go over the timeline for the next set of paperwork. We have to wait ten days, that is April 26th a Saturday, so we have to wait until Monday to pick up the paperwork, but the 28th is Easter here so Monday is a holiday (no problem the same is true in the US). But, May 1st is a holiday similar to Labor Day (only a much bigger deal here) and the little town we have to get the birth certificates issued in, something like Karastachif, may be closed the entire week. WHAT! So the next day that we could get anything done would be May 5th! WHAT!!!!!
The agency may be open on the 28th and 29th but Ramon does not know that (he is suposed to be finding out today, haven't heard from him yet) and if they are he does not know if they will be able to do the new certificates in two days before they go on vacation until the next week. GOOD GRIEF!
I am trying not to borrow trouble but today is day 40 here and I am ready to get back in touch with my life. I am aware that we will be coming home with three great children and that is the most important thing.
Random Observations:
- the airport is seriously busy and has not slowed down since I got here at 8AM. They could stand for an expansion
- I had a surprisingly good - if not salty lunch at the airport
- the majority of men here carry "man bags" - yes, very much like Joey's on "Friends"
- everyone even if they have a purse or "man bag" carries a plastic shoping type bag. You can buy them at street vendors and "Hugo Boss" is a very popular style. Also seeing a lot of flower covered ones now that the weather is a bit warmer. Joe and I are perplexed by these bags and neither of us has taken up the habit- although we did look at "man bags" for Joe!
Hope this satisfies everyone's craving for an update. I am going to go get a soft serve ice cream. A lot of that is sold here as well and you can get a cone at McDonald's for 1.50 hriyvna which is about thirty cents - pretty good deal. Wonder how much they are here.
3:00, only an hour and a half to go. Mom is almost here."
Tonz
I just checked the flights and Mom's plane has touched down and she should be at the gate! Here is Tonya's update.
" So, as I have some airport time to kill (it is 12:45 and we got here at 8:00, mom gets here at 4:15 - the time is going surprisingly fast) I thought I would update the blog info. I wrote 12 pages in my journal about yesterday but I will try to keep it a little shorter for this.
I think the appropriate title for this is "Let the Waiting Begin (Continue)"
So, we had court yesterday ( Aprill 16th) among other things. All in all a pretty full day.
Court was scheduled for 1:00. Ramon came to Radamashel about. 9:00 to go to the Inspector's office because he needed to get official stamps on some copies of paperwork that the SDA requested. This is paperwork that the SDA does not normally request - but remember Joe and I are not doing this the easy way, that is not our way. This will become even more evident later on. Anyway we basically only got to keep our court date yesterday because Ramon promised to bring the officially stamped copies back to the SDA the same afternoon - 9:00 today is when he actually got them to the SDA as he did not leave Radamashel until almost 7 last night.
So court...
We get to the court - I will have Joe post a picture of the building as well as the courtroom - a little before 1. The other participants arrive shortly after - Inspector (I) and the Orphanage Representative (OR), thr Director' second in command. My fvorite thing about the entire court experience is that the Judge was running around in her slippers (pink!). She was appropriately robed and shod when court started.
Courtroom does not seem to be a busy place as the room was opened specifically for our hearing and closed again afterwards. (You just have to see the picture). They did not even turn the lights on.
Entire court presence:
Joe, myself and Ramon
Inspector
Orphanage Representative
Court Recorder - pencil and paper, no machines here
Judge and 2 other court witnesses
Town Prosecutor
Before setting out for court we asked Ramon what kinds of questions we would be asked and he said none really because this is just a formality. He wasn't exactly correct - I refer back to the difficult way!
When the procedings started there was a lot of reading by the judge of required documents, people present (each of us - including the I and OR - had to stand and identify ourselves and say our birthdays), our rights as petitioners, and other stuff like that. Then the judge says there will be a few questions - 20 minutes later we moved on. The questions ranged from "how many rooms do you have in your house?" to "Will you be able to give these children the love they need?" There were plenty more and if I was not typing this on Joe's blackberry at the airport I would type more.
Aside: I just spent the last hour at the internet cafe in the airport trying to use my school e-mail to send the message instead of the crackberry. Pretty much all I could do was look at messages and delete some - sending did not work. There is something about Wake Counties e-mailsystem that is very difficult to use out of town.
The I and OR then gave their statements approving the adoption petition. There ws some more reading of stuff and then the judge says they will be going out to debate for 15 - 20 minutes. 15-20 minutes later they were back and the judge starts to read a two page, front and back statement, word for word that basically says says the court approves the petition and now we have to wait for 10 days to see if anyone objects. Court adjourned.
Ramon wanted to say a few follow-up words to the judge just to get clear when we could pick up the paperwork and where the new birth certificates need to be made. when he is finished it is now 3:30. Our 20 minute court date took two and a half hours.
We now head to the orphanage to see the Director. Of course she was not there - so 15-20 minutes more waiting. (Ramon has told us that Ukrainians are good at waiting because during the Soviet occupation they had to wait in line for everything) Director was in a very chatty mood. I will not bore you with those details but it was after five when we left.
It is at this point that my anger for the day really takes off. Ramon tells us that he is still waiting to hear about our apartment in Kiev. Why are we still waiting? Why wasn't the apartment booked last week when we told you we were going to need it on Wednesday.
I will skip all the sordid details, but in the end we stayed in Radamashel because there were no hotel rooms or apartments available in the entire city of Kiev. You all know my penchant for having a plan and making preparations ahead of time. So, when the men (sorry men for the stereotyping but this is such a man thing to do) do not try to get an apartment until the day of this is what happens. So, Joe and I leave Radamashel with Nikolai at 6AM to get him to the airport because he is going home for a week or so and mom is taking his place.
Here comes thing two that almost puts me over the edge.
While we are waiting to hear about the apartment we go over the timeline for the next set of paperwork. We have to wait ten days, that is April 26th a Saturday, so we have to wait until Monday to pick up the paperwork, but the 28th is Easter here so Monday is a holiday (no problem the same is true in the US). But, May 1st is a holiday similar to Labor Day (only a much bigger deal here) and the little town we have to get the birth certificates issued in, something like Karastachif, may be closed the entire week. WHAT! So the next day that we could get anything done would be May 5th! WHAT!!!!!
The agency may be open on the 28th and 29th but Ramon does not know that (he is suposed to be finding out today, haven't heard from him yet) and if they are he does not know if they will be able to do the new certificates in two days before they go on vacation until the next week. GOOD GRIEF!
I am trying not to borrow trouble but today is day 40 here and I am ready to get back in touch with my life. I am aware that we will be coming home with three great children and that is the most important thing.
Random Observations:
- the airport is seriously busy and has not slowed down since I got here at 8AM. They could stand for an expansion
- I had a surprisingly good - if not salty lunch at the airport
- the majority of men here carry "man bags" - yes, very much like Joey's on "Friends"
- everyone even if they have a purse or "man bag" carries a plastic shoping type bag. You can buy them at street vendors and "Hugo Boss" is a very popular style. Also seeing a lot of flower covered ones now that the weather is a bit warmer. Joe and I are perplexed by these bags and neither of us has taken up the habit- although we did look at "man bags" for Joe!
Hope this satisfies everyone's craving for an update. I am going to go get a soft serve ice cream. A lot of that is sold here as well and you can get a cone at McDonald's for 1.50 hriyvna which is about thirty cents - pretty good deal. Wonder how much they are here.
3:00, only an hour and a half to go. Mom is almost here."
Tonz
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Day in Court
Sorry to post so late tonight, I was hoping to get an e-mail update from Tonya and Joe but they have had a very long day so that will have to wait until tomorrow. I did speak with them on the phone this afternoon so here is a brief summary.
The great news is that they did get their court appointment (thanks for the prayers) and everything was signed, approved, etc....so now the 10 day wait begins. They also had a very good conversation with the director at the orphanage. Tonya said she was the nicest and chattiest that she has been yet. I am not sure if they got to see the boys today but did say they had a nice visit with Oksana. Mom's plane left on time today so she is well on her way and should arrive in the Ukraine tomorrow at 5 their time.
Now for what is becoming the typical Ukranian twist (I am going to give the short version and hopefully Tonya and Joe can fill in the gaps): they were in court at 1 p.m. and the appointment lasted for over 3 hours then they had to go and wait for the director at the orphanage for over 45 minutes because they needed her signature. The entire time they were planning on returning to Kiev so that Joe could catch his flight out tomorrow. After they left the director they were informed that the reservation they had requested for an apartment in Kiev had never been made. Ramon called this afternoon but there is a conference in Kiev and as a result there are no apartments or hotels in the entire city. So, Tonya and Joe had to spend an extra night in Radamashel, and they are leaving at 6a.m. headed back to Kiev so that Joe can catch his plane. Tonya is going to hang around the airport until Mom lands at 5 and then they are headed back to Radamashel until at least Tuesday. Mom is very excited to see the kids so I am sure that will help her overcome her jetlag.
The 10 day wait has now started and that includes weekends. However, Tonya and Joe's 10 days will end on a Saturday which pushes it to Monday. That happens to be Easter weekend in the Ukraine so Monday is a holiday, so that pushes it until Tuesday. Ramon said that sometimes they take the entire week off for the holiday but he is not sure if that is the case this year or not. He will try to find out tomorrow but that decision can change daily so there is really no way to be sure if they will work that week or not. If they don't, that turns the 10 day wait into 19 days. The kicker is that this time has to pass before they can start the paperwork for passports, birth certificates, etc...
Today's prayer request is for safe flights for Mom and Joe and that whoever is in charge of the paperwork will decide to come to work on the Tuesday after Easter so they can move on with the next step of this process.
Thanks,
Rachel
The great news is that they did get their court appointment (thanks for the prayers) and everything was signed, approved, etc....so now the 10 day wait begins. They also had a very good conversation with the director at the orphanage. Tonya said she was the nicest and chattiest that she has been yet. I am not sure if they got to see the boys today but did say they had a nice visit with Oksana. Mom's plane left on time today so she is well on her way and should arrive in the Ukraine tomorrow at 5 their time.
Now for what is becoming the typical Ukranian twist (I am going to give the short version and hopefully Tonya and Joe can fill in the gaps): they were in court at 1 p.m. and the appointment lasted for over 3 hours then they had to go and wait for the director at the orphanage for over 45 minutes because they needed her signature. The entire time they were planning on returning to Kiev so that Joe could catch his flight out tomorrow. After they left the director they were informed that the reservation they had requested for an apartment in Kiev had never been made. Ramon called this afternoon but there is a conference in Kiev and as a result there are no apartments or hotels in the entire city. So, Tonya and Joe had to spend an extra night in Radamashel, and they are leaving at 6a.m. headed back to Kiev so that Joe can catch his plane. Tonya is going to hang around the airport until Mom lands at 5 and then they are headed back to Radamashel until at least Tuesday. Mom is very excited to see the kids so I am sure that will help her overcome her jetlag.
The 10 day wait has now started and that includes weekends. However, Tonya and Joe's 10 days will end on a Saturday which pushes it to Monday. That happens to be Easter weekend in the Ukraine so Monday is a holiday, so that pushes it until Tuesday. Ramon said that sometimes they take the entire week off for the holiday but he is not sure if that is the case this year or not. He will try to find out tomorrow but that decision can change daily so there is really no way to be sure if they will work that week or not. If they don't, that turns the 10 day wait into 19 days. The kicker is that this time has to pass before they can start the paperwork for passports, birth certificates, etc...
Today's prayer request is for safe flights for Mom and Joe and that whoever is in charge of the paperwork will decide to come to work on the Tuesday after Easter so they can move on with the next step of this process.
Thanks,
Rachel
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Pray for paperwork
It seems like as Tonya and Joe move through this process the focus of our prayers change almost daily: safe travel, get a referral, healthy children, good visit with the director, edible food, etc...... so today's focus is getting the paperwork signed so that they can make their court date. Wednesday the prayer request will change again to safe travel for Mom and Joe as they trade places and that the 10 day waiting period passes without incident. Thanks for all the prayers, please keep them up, they are working!
Here is today's update from the Ukraine:
"Just back from visiting with Oksana. We practiced English and Ukrainian today. Yeva and Lasia were there as well.
Visited with the boys this morning. They like to play in the sandbox. We held up some of the clothes to try and get a size estimate. Dima - the 4-5 pants look to be right for him as well as the 4T shirt. He is probably right in the middle of the two. Vitali - the 3T pants were way too long but the 2T looked like he was about to be too big for them. The 3T shirt was a little big but the 2T was definitely too small. So, we are pretty much between sizes. Will probably not be able to tell for sure until we are able to actually get the clothes on them.
Ramon says we are on for court tomorrow at one and he is 90% sure the paperwork will be done. When we talked to him this afternoon he was waiting for them to call and tell him they had been signed.
As an aside it seems that the people who do the preparing of the documents and the people who do the signing are not the same, and the people who do the signing are never around. We needed the Inspector to sign so we could visit the children - not around. We needed the Notary to sign so we could submit documents to Inspector - not around. We need the SDA to sign - not around.Hopefully they will get signed so we do not have to change our tickets or figure out how to get mom.
Hope your day is good.
Tonz and Yo"
Here is today's update from the Ukraine:
"Just back from visiting with Oksana. We practiced English and Ukrainian today. Yeva and Lasia were there as well.
Visited with the boys this morning. They like to play in the sandbox. We held up some of the clothes to try and get a size estimate. Dima - the 4-5 pants look to be right for him as well as the 4T shirt. He is probably right in the middle of the two. Vitali - the 3T pants were way too long but the 2T looked like he was about to be too big for them. The 3T shirt was a little big but the 2T was definitely too small. So, we are pretty much between sizes. Will probably not be able to tell for sure until we are able to actually get the clothes on them.
Ramon says we are on for court tomorrow at one and he is 90% sure the paperwork will be done. When we talked to him this afternoon he was waiting for them to call and tell him they had been signed.
As an aside it seems that the people who do the preparing of the documents and the people who do the signing are not the same, and the people who do the signing are never around. We needed the Inspector to sign so we could visit the children - not around. We needed the Notary to sign so we could submit documents to Inspector - not around. We need the SDA to sign - not around.Hopefully they will get signed so we do not have to change our tickets or figure out how to get mom.
Hope your day is good.
Tonz and Yo"
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