Some Pictures From Yesterday!

Here is a picture of our train. I was so excited it was pink, but when we got to our section of the train it was the usual blue :(

Here is a picture of the bench in the courthouse that we sat on before both court dates for a very long time!

Here is a copy of Zoya's NEW birth certificate! Her name is on the top 2 lines (written in Cryllic) and our names as her parents are toward the bottom.  Shawn's first name looks like Won and mine looks like Capa. Marina (speaking of my maiden name "Pulley") asked me if my ansestors are from the Baltic Sea...hmmm I don't think so but ya never know!

Zoya sporting her cool purple shades!

Sitting with Daddy in the car with no carseat! Ahhh!

She had this look on her face most of the ride!

Sweet girl!

Peeking out the window with Dad

We Have Power!

Good news!! The power came back on………………right before we got to the vital statistics building! I’m tellin ya….God is meeting these deadlines by the skin of His teeth….just to bug me! Just kidding, but really…that seems to be the way things have gone with this adoption so far!


We had quite the long day! Maybe the longest day in Ukraine yet. We were picked up at 7:30am…went straight through until 6pm with no food or time to breathe. First, we went to see the judge. By the way, he is very friendly now! He smiled and greeted us and even shook our hands! Marina says he is quite the jokester too…when she was checking with him yesterday to make sure our papers would be ready today he said, “ahh I might need some more time, I’m not sure if they’ll be done.” But he was just joking. Good thing or I’d need to speak with him privately! Anyways, we spent about an hour there getting all the documents and getting them stamped and sewn together (here they sew all documents to bind them). We saw the witness…remember the one who was against the adoption of a child with Down Syndrome? We had the chance to share a bunch of photos we brought. We brought photos from all of the adaptive activities that we are involved with at home. We had pictures of swimming, horseback riding, sailing, therapy dog activities, and just fun pictures of kids we know and love with Down Syndrome. She was smiling and very happy to see them. She told us congratulations. I am so glad we had the opportunity to share these photos with her!

Next we went to see the social worker. She had to sign some papers for the passport too. After that. we went to the orphanage to get some papers signed. We then went to the passport office to drop off those documents. Then we drove the hour to Zoya’s birth city to the Vital Statistics Office to get her birth certificate changed to her new name and have our names put on as her parents!. The power was on!!!! We picked up some chocolates for them and convinced them to have her birth certificate printed “early”….not in our terms of early…but definitely in their definition of early…which would be 1:00pm. At the time it was about 11:30 so we left and picked up some bananas to take to the director of the vital statistics office who is in the maternity hospital on bed rest. I think we did that to say thank you to her for “working” to get the power back on during her bed rest in the hospital. We finished up at that office around 1:30 and then dropped off a picture of us and Zoya at a different social worker’s office. After that we went to another office to get Zoya’s name changed on her tax I.D. number…I guess that is like our social security numbers. It took a long time and the lady didn’t want to do it. She pointed at the sign and said, “Can’t you read, it says come at 9am for tax I.D. papers.” In true Marina fashion, she convinced the lady to do it NOW. This office has never had this type of request before so they weren’t sure how to do it. Marina says we should pray that they did it right, if they didn’t do it right it could cause some delays. After this office, we drove the hour back to Dnep and went back to the passport office to drop off some more documents.

Next we got to go to the orphanage and spring Zoya out for a field trip for her passport photo. I know you’re thinking, “didn’t they already do that?” No that photo we got was for her visa that we will get next week. We woke Zoya up from her nap but she was so excited to see us! She smiled right away and reached her arms out for me….and then just stared at us, almost looking so thankful we came back. She would just stare and then out of nowhere a big smile would creep across her face! It was so good to see her again and hold her and know she was okay. She was really good in the car and loved just looking out the window. Anyways, the passport picture extravaganza was pretty funny. They put a booster seat on the chair for her but since she doesn’t have much trunk control they had to duck down while holding her around the waist. In the first picture she was still too low so they took a huge stack of folders and papers and put that on top of the booster seat and put her on top of that. While they were trying to get her picture Marina’s cell phone rang and Zoya started doing her “dance” (where she sways back and forth moving her shoulders up and down). We thought it was hilarious but I don’t think they thought it was. Finally they got a mug shot of her that will work. We filled out the rest of the paperwork for her passport and then made a quick stop at the store for some water and bread and then took Zoya back to the orphanage.

The room Zoya is in is going to be remodeled soon. They will put up new wallpaper and put in new windows, which is great to see! So they are in the process of moving all of the kids’ things to another room. Our facilitator gave us the option to take Zoya out of the orphanage tomorrow or wait until we get her passport. She recommended we wait but left it up to us. We really really really wanted to take her out tomorrow, but we had to think about Zoya. Taking Zoya away from the orphanage will likely be very scary for her…being in new places and away from the only life she has ever known…we want it to be as easy of a transition for her as possible. If we were to take her tomorrow she would stay in this house with us until Friday or Monday and then take the train to Kiev and stay in an apartment there. That just seems like an awful lot of environmental changes, and it will be hard enough for her as it is…so we decided we will wait until we are leaving here before we take her out of the orphanage. This way she can stay on her schedule a little longer and maybe the trip home won’t be as tough.

Plan A (hoping for this one) would be that the passport comes back from Kiev to Dnep on Friday and we can spring Zoya from the orphanage on Friday or Saturday and then take a train to Kiev to begin our embassy/visa paperwork and medical exam on Monday and Tuesday and then fly home Wednesday. Plan B would be that the passport comes back Monday (they don’t have mail delivery on Saturdays here) and we break Zoya out of the orphanage on Monday and take the evening train with her back to Kiev and do the embassy paperwork Tuesday and Wedensday and come home Thursday. Plan C (C for crap) is that the passport will take longer than expected and we will have to figure things out from there! Pray for Plan A or B!

I think I am going to go to bed for the night…I have a horrible headache..probably from not eating all day (don’t worry I just ate). Tomorrow we are getting picked up at 9:15 (yay get to sleep in a little). We are going to try to find a carpet to buy for Zoya’s groupa since they one they have is pretty old and yucky. We already gave a monetary donation, but we would like to do something more. We also have to go to the bank to sign Zoya’s account over to the orphanage. All orphans are given a government back account and when they turn 18 they are given the money. We aren’t sure how much Zoya has but it likely isn’t much. We will sign this money over to the orphanage to say thank you to them for taking care of Zoya during the time she was an orphan. The orphanage will use this money for orphanage improvements. Do I believe they will really use it for that? Yes 100%. The director here really cares about the kids and we are getting that they truly are remodeling parts of the orphanage, Zoya’s groupa being one of them!

The internet connection is VERY slow here for some reason. So I can’t upload any pictures right now. I will say she is just as cute as she was before...maybe even cuter now that she is “officially, officially, having a birth certificate that says so” a Basile!

2am Arrival in Dnep

It is just about 2am and we just made it to the new house which is right around the corner from the old house we stayed at. This one is definitely nicer. For some reason the internet connection is horrible and I can’t email. Not sure if we will be able to upload many pictures from here....maybe we can do that from the orphanage.  The train ride was uneventful and we lived to tell about it :)  It is really hard to sleep on the train let alone having a stranger in a 7X5 compartment closed in with you! Andre, our driver, picked us up and it was a quiet ride since he doesn't know English and we don't know Russian.  He drove like a maniac and we hit one bump so hard that my head hit the ceiling of his car.  It took one quick second to get readjusted to the driving here when I almost got plastered to the pavement at the airport. 

Off to bed as we have about 4 hours to sleep until we get up...pray for power (not the mighty kind...well that too but I was referring to electricity!)  Hopefully we will get to see Zoya in the evening tomorrow but I'm pretty sure we'll miss our morning visit.  If all goes well we could be back to Kiev by Monday! Let's pray!

On the Train with a Man Wearin Argyle :)

We mad it onto the train and somehow I have internet connection.  We bought 3 first class tickets so we could have some space for our luggage...but Nico accidentally bought 2 tickets in one compartment and one ticket in another, which does us no good.  So we are sharing our compartment with another guy.  It is a little strange since we don't speak the same language and he is sitting about 12 inches from me (facing me).  I told Shawn we will have to take turns sleeping incase he tries to rob or kill us.  I've heard stories about people getting gassed by others and getting robbed on trains....but this guy is wearing an argyle sweater....I've NEVER heard of a murderer wearing argyle....but then again I guess I don't know what most murderers wear....but really he looks like a nice student...I guess you will find out if we live to tell the tale! Haha. 

We should get to our "new" house in Zoya's region around midnight Ukraine time.  We are not staying in the same house we did last time, so we will see if this is an upgrade or not so much :) We were told the power "should" be on tomorrow. We are being picked up bright and early at 7am to get our papers from the judge and then off to the vital statistics office (as long as it has power) to get Zoya's birth certificate and hopefully then we can apply for her passport.  So excited to see our girl again!

In Kiev

Almost 24 hours later we are in Kiev....still not our final destination in Ukraine, but we at least made it here. Right now we are in "Uncle Nico's" office just hanging out until our train leaves at 5:30 (Ukraine time). On our longest leg of the trip here, Shawn and I got stuck in the 2 middle seats in the middle row and his tv didn't work hehe.  It was quite squishy and made for a long ride.  I of course sat behind the guy who lowered his seat into my face about 4 times and the guy behind me didn't want me to have my seat down (as he tapped me on the shoulder and motioned for me to put it up) so I was pretty claustrophobic! Security in Germany was crazier than last time.  We had to go through 2 complete security checks.  Shelly they took your diet coke :( But they let us take our huge bottle of whiskey for our facilitator! Hmmm...that was strange.  Last time we were allowed to take water and such through, but this time they took the diet coke...I know you've been waiting for that Shelly....so sorry :( Shawn and I both got stopped at the first security check...nothing new for me but it threw Shawn for a loop.  2nd check the beepers didn't go off and the guy looked at me very suprised it didn't go off...I thought the same thing since every other security check on all of our travels so far has been set off by me!

Our train to Zoya's region is leaving in a couple hours and we will arrive around 11:30pm Ukraine time.  We are pretty tired and hoping to be able to sleep a little on the train.  We don't know if we will be staying at the same house we stayed at before or what. We also haven't heard about the power in the vital statistics building.  Hopfully it is back on now!

Will update when we get to Dnep.  :) One step closer to our girl forever!

Paka America

We are leaving in an hour and a half to fly almost 5,000 miles yet again but this time to bring home our angel girl! We've been up running around like maniacs trying to remember all the last minute things.  Shawn just went to get some Draino as it appears our sink is pretty clogged...great timing on that one :( Yesterday we bought some final things for our trip.  My favorite were 3 mini American flags for our return to America! We're not even gone yet and I can't wait to be back! I keep trying to picture us home with Zoya here and it seems so surreal.  It seems almost impossible that after 7 months of paperwork, tears, troubles, and a bunch of lessons along the way, that this is really finally happening! I can't wait to get on the plane with her and take off from Kiev into the sky where no one can slow us down any more or stop us from our new life together. I know either Zoya or I will be crying like a baby...maybe both of us!

So Paka America....for now....but we'll be back soon and with a lot more than we took over :)

Leaving Tomorrow

Well we still haven't heard anything about the power situation in order to print Zoya's birth certificate but we have decided to leave tomorrow as planned and hope for the best.  The power has already been out for 10 days so hopefully soon it will be back on.  This makes me very nervous.  We don't want to be stuck in Ukraine waiting for the power, but we don't want to wait to hear when it comes back on and then lose a few days traveling either. We miss Zoya tons and don't want to lose ground with our bonding by being away any longer.  If the power does not come back on soon that will put us in a tough situation. Techically once we get to her region Tuesday, we can take her out of the orphanage.  This is not recommended for many reasons.  First we would have to lug her all around for long car rides and wait in buildings with her while trying to get our paperwork done.  Second, if something happens where we can't get the passport or in true Ukraine style, something else goes wrong where it would prolong our stay, we couldn't leave because we would have already taken custody of Zoya and we can't take her out of the country without her passport....we can't get her passport without her birth certificate....we can't get her birth certificate without a power supply!! Also, if we stay in the same house we did last time, I definitely do not feel comfortable having Zoya in that house.  It is not clean or safe or in any way okay for a baby to live in for any period of time. 

So we are praying that the power will be back on Tuesday morning and we can start the last of the paperwork.  We leave out of Erie tomorrow at 11:40 and get into Kiev Monday 6:15am (1:15pm Ukraine time).  We will then maybe get an apartment to get cleaned up in and take the night train that night to Zoya's region and arrive at 7am on Tuesday.  Tuesday is the first day we are legally allowed to begin paperwork...but that is all contingent upon the power supply.  This isn't unusual for a small village in Ukraine, but it IS annoying! IF the power supply is back on we can get her birth certificate and on the same day we can apply for her passport on Tuesday.  It has to be sent to Kiev and it takes about 5 days to come back.  We hope that we would have her birth certificate back by Saturday or Monday at the latest.  Whatever day we get her passport back we will break her out of the orphanage!!! Whatever day that is we will take the night train with Zoya back to Kiev.  We will do some paperwork for her Visa at the embassy and then get her a medical exam.  The following day we will go back to the embassy to pick up her Visa and then we are free to go! (depending upon when we can get a flight out).  If the power is on and things are moving as they should we plan to fly back to the US April 22nd.  I know a lot of people thought we could just go back over for a few days, pick her up, and return home....who are you kidding....that would make things too easy! We will be there at least 10 days and depending on the power...could be up to 3 weeks (I'd hate to think more than that but ya never know). 

Please pray that this power issue is resolved.  We are really wanting this part of the process to go smoothly and are starting to get a little tired and weary...this has been a long process and just when we think we are at the "easy" part, problems arise again.  We are trying to stay positive but like I said, we are just really hoping to breathe easy and not be stuck in Ukraine for an unknown period of time. We just want to BRING ZOYA HOME where she belongs!!!

A Simple Post

Before we left to meet Zoya I felt like we had a lot done, but in the back of my mind I was afraid to do too much, incase something went wrong or we weren't able to adopt Zoya for some reason.  When I got home and looked around I felt like I had so much to do to get ready for her....personalizing her room now that we had met her, buying clothes now that we knew her size, getting the play/therapy room ready now that we know her strengths and needs...and so much more.  Prior to meeting her, everything we got ready was for a baby we never met and didn't know much about.  Now we are trying to make her room and play/therapy room comfortable and happy for her, based on her personality.  It is fun! There are many other things I should be working on (visa application and embassy paperwork, packing and shopping for our 2nd trip, and so on)...but this is more fun :)

I bought these little white letters and some ribbons and sparkly gems to glue on.  I think they turned out cute and I know she will love them!  We hung them on her wall. 

Torrential Downpour

Tonight I went to Wegmans to get some dinner.  When I went inside the weather was sunny and warm...unusual for this time of year...so warm I had the air conditioning on in my car.  I was inside for only 10 minutes.  When I came out, it was raining buckets.  The raindrops were the size of peanut m&ms. I stood there thinking "seriously?" I couldn't believe how drastically the weather had changed in just 10 minutes. I waited a minute but the rain only seemed to be getting worse.  I could stand there and wait or run to my car. I hesitated because I had flip flops on and I knew my feet would get soaked.  I pictured myself slipping and falling.  Other people were either waiting under the awning or getting umbrellas from inside.  Nobody was in the rain.  Everyone was avoiding it.  It seemed they were all protected...waiting for someone to drive up to their rescue or having the shelter of an umbrella.  I felt completely unprepared for the rain and since I was all alone I had nobody to go and get my car.  I decided to run....fast....and in less than 30 seconds I was completely drenched....my hair, my clothes, my feet, my face...all of me. The rain drops were so heavy and I couldn't even try to dodge them.  They were big and wet and smacking me in the face.  I felt exposed, unprotected, and alone....being the only one who decided to run through the rain.

I got to my car and jumped in as fast as I could.  I put my key in and turned on the car. The air conditioning was still on and from being so wet I was freezing.  I turned the heat on and just sat in my car feeling happy to have it's protection from the rain.  I was also feeling a little annoyed that it seemed I was the only one who got soaked.  Everyone else had a better plan and escaped the rain one way or another.  I was kind of mad at myself for running through the rain and not coming up with a better plan.  I don't know why but I just sat there in my car until the rain ended...about ten minutes. The sound of the rain was soothing, now that I was finally under shelter.  It went from pouring and a black sky, to a steady rain with overcast clouds, to light sprinkles with the sunshine peeking through, to no rain with rays of sun shining down again.  My wet clothes clung to me and I shivered the whole way home...even though I felt uncomfortable I felt happy that the rain had stopped and I had found shelter and I was able to put warm dry clothes on once I got home.

I sat there thinking of how this last 15 minutes paralleled our adoption pretty accuractely. So many times it has gone from sunny skies and warm temperatures to freezing rain and black skies...all in the blink of an eye.  During the adoption process, I have felt alone, exposed, drenched, annoyed, and lacking a "plan" at times.  I have looked around to see others who are adopting having an easier time...having a plan to escape the rain...having an umbrella to keep from getting hit with the enormous obstacles falling from the sky....and wondering why it seems I'm the one who keeps getting caught in the storm and having to run for cover.  I can relate this to my relationship with God on this journey.  Every time a storm comes I try to come up with a plan on my own and end up getting soaked.  It usually takes me some time to remember that I have the shelter of the Lord.  From the time it takes me to remember this, I get caught in the storm, feeling alone and uncomfortable, but I always find shelter in his arms...although usually not before getting drenched  from trying out my own plan.  Just like the storm today, every time we've had a "torrential downpour" in our adoption process, the sun has always come back out in the end.  I take comfort in knowing that no matter how bad the storm, the sun eventually comes out and dries up any traces of the rain.  Even when I get caught in the storm, I'm never soaked forever.  God is great and he has been my shelter, he has given me warm, dry clothes to put on after each storm I get caught in.  Sometimes it's my own fault I get caught in the storm...but it doesn't matter to him how many times I forget to seek His shelter and cause myself to get caught in the storm...he is always there in the end. 

Discouraged

Quite the day already and it is only noon.  Some days I feel defeated and wonder why not one part of this process can be easy.  We got an email from our facilitator today saying that the Vital Statistics office in Zoya's home town has not had power for 7 days and they don't know if it will be back on by Tuesday the 13th in order to process Zoya's birth certificate.  The one and only woman who is allowed to print her birth certificate is also having a baby in the hospital right now.  This would not fly in America....but Ukraine is NOT America.  Our facilitator said she doesn't know what to tell us and we can either still fly out Sunday and maybe have to stay for who knows how much longer than the week and a half we were planning and wait until the power comes back on, all the time having no clue if that will take days or weeks, or we can stay home longer and wait to hear.  I'm almost in tears.  I just spent the whole day yesterday making appointments for the week after we were supposed to be home, and now we may not even be home.  I just want to get her and bring her home! This is supposed to be the "easy" part of the process, if there is an easy part.  Every time I start to let my guard down just the teeniest bit something like this happens.  I think I will be in such disbelief the day we are allowed to walk out of the orphanage with her!  Please pray that this issue will be resolved quickly and we don't have to change or flights again and delay getting Zoya home even more :( 

Here are a few videos that I uploaded.  Watching them and thinking we might not get to her as soon as we though breaks my heart.

This is the first time Zoya ever laughed!


Here is Zoya dropping her toys again and cracking up!


Here is her little tongue.


Zoya following directions in her walker!