Happy Sweet 16

What makes a happy "Sweet 16" Birthday? To most teenagers, getting a new car, throwing an expensive birthday party, getting lots of presents are the things that make their sixteenth birthday happy. 

To an orphaned teen in Ukraine, turning 16 means the loss of the chance to ever have a family. To turn 16 is the realization that you are on your own....forever. Turning 16 is not a happy, joyous occasion. When you turn 16 as a Ukrainian orphan, you officially become un-adoptable. Can you imagine the dread that these kids must feel as they approach their 16th birthday? Instead of worrying about if their parents are going to spend enough a car, or if their party is going to be better than their friends, they face the stark reality of NEVER having parents to buy them presents, or throw them a party, or even to say I love you.

Today, our sweet daughter turned 16. Instead of facing this day with dread, our girl was happy to be happy, to feel joy, and to have hope. Why? Because she knows she has a family. She knows her Mama and Papa are coming back for her. For the first time in many years, if not in her whole life, she has a family that cares for her, loves her, and down right adores her. Do you know how thrilled this makes me? 

Ryan and I woke up at 4:30 am this morning to call her while our sweet friend Natalya was with her to translate for us. We were so looking forward to celebrating this special birthday with her, but unfortunately, that was not meant to be. Since we couldn't be there, we arranged for Natalya to bring cake and ice cream to the school for A and her friends to share. When we called her this morning, A sounded so....happy!! She of course was disappointed that we weren't there, and told us how much she misses us. Despite that, she was so excited because she had presents to open, cake to eat, and parents who woke up super early to call and wish her a happy birthday. See, this birthday is special. Not because she is getting a fancy car, or an expensive party, but simply because she is getting....family. She is getting parents, and sisters, and aunts, uncles, and cousins, and grandparents. The gift of family....that is just about the best present you can get, don't you think? 

Happy Sweet 16 to our beautiful, kind, compassionate, resilient, joyful, brown eyed girl! We are so humbled to call you daughter. Thank you for boldly believing that the Lord would bring you a family, by asking Him in prayer each night. We look forward to seeing God's wonderful plans for you this year. We love you!!

"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" Matthew 21:22

Giving Thanks in All Circumstances

Just as it was surreal to write my first post in Ukraine, it is surreal to be sitting at home writing this post. We never expected to be home 2 weeks into our trip and without having court. We have definitely learned that expecting the unexpected in adopting is a very true statement! 

Friday, we spent the morning with our sweet girl. Ryan and I bought her a Russian Bible earlier in the week, and decided that our last day with her would be the perfect time to give it to her. We both wrote a little note to her in it, and were able to show her a couple of our favorite verses. Our sweet facilitator, who is a believer, translated for us and showed A how to look up verses through the index. She loved her beautiful new Bible, and we pray that she takes comfort in reading it while we are apart. A gave me a gift that she made for me...a little box that she decoupaged. It is something I will treasure always!

A's Bible

Angelina showing A how to look up scripture

My beautiful box from A

Saying good bye was SO hard. By the grace of God, I kept it together, and did not break down in front of her. Leaving your precious child a half a world away is just not something that comes naturally. To leave her at the orphanage for another 6 weeks breaks my heart! I am so ready to bring her home, and let her start her new life with her loving family. I am thankful for her caregivers, and that she will be able to stay there until we return, instead of having to leave for trade school. Her director and social worker were so kind and supportive when we left. They knew how hard it was for both us, and tried very hard to be comforting. I will never be able to thank them enough for taking good care of our girl for all of these years. Many children are not lucky enough to be placed in an orphanage where the workers truly care for them. I have no doubt that A has received the best care possible at her orphanage, and for that, I am thankful.

NOT wanting to let go!!!

Our baby girl seeing us off

Ryan and I hopped on a propeller plane to make the trip to Kiev this time around instead of taking the train. While I was a bit nervous about not being on a jet, I must say that the flight was WAY better than the train ride, and the interior of the plane was much nicer than most Delta flights I have been on.

Getting on the plane

 View from my window

 Beautiful view flying over the Black sea

"Baggage Claim" at the small airport in Kiev

When we arrived in Kiev, we met our facilitator there for dinner, and then headed to our apartment. This apartment was quite interesting. To get hot water, you had to unplug a LONG cord from the bedroom, bring it into the bathroom, and plug the hot water heater in. I'm sure it would never pass code in the US, but it worked! We ran out to meet our new friends that are adopting there as well, to catch up for an hour or so, and then went back to get a whopping 3 hours of sleep.

 Entry way of our Kiev apartment

Bedroom #1 

 Kitchen

 Bathroom(s)

Gotta love the hot water tank and the swiveling faucet!

Bedroom #2

We woke up at 3:30 am to catch our flights home! All flights went smoothly with no delays. We landed at 5:15 pm yesterday, and were welcomed at the airport by our 4 babies and my parents. It was SO wonderful to get hugs and kisses from my sweet girls. I had missed them immensely! At the same time, our homecoming was very bittersweet. The void is great, and we long to bring A home soon. We know that the Lord's timing is not always our timing, but we also know that His ways are perfect. He called us to adopt our sweet A. That we know beyond a shadow of a doubt. We are thankful for these past 2 weeks that we got to spend with her. Many say that attaching to your adopted children takes longer than your biological children. That is what we prepared ourselves for. That was not the case for us. As soon as we laid eyes on her for the first time, we were hooked! We thank the Lord for so perfectly picking our daughter for us. 

Did Starbucks drinks shrink while we were gone?!?:)

Arriving back in LR...2 weeks later at the same gate we left out of

 Our little Roobear modeling her Ukrainian floral headband

My baby is a whole year older than when we left!!

Aislynn in her Ukrainian headband (Avalea, as always, refused to let us take her pic!)

Many would say adopting an older child or teenager is a scary thing. I would have agreed before this process. Meeting our daughter for the first time, and getting to know her and see her sweet disposition, enthusiasm, hope, and love was a marvel to behold. We feel beyond blessed by the gift of being called to be her parents. To see such a special child that has been able to overcome her background, and come through it with such grace, is miraculous. 

As we were visiting with her and her sweet friend one day, her friend told our translator that she longed for a family of her own. With a joyful voice, A told her, "Anya, you need to pray for a family each night, just like I did! I am your example":) You can only imagine my own joy hearing our sweet girl talk of her prayers for her family, and that the Lord heard those prayers and answered them!! 

We do not know all of the little details of our process ahead. What we do know, is that the Lord will see this through. He heard our sweet orphaned baby girl call out to Him, night after night in her little bed, and He will not leave her as an orphan! He is faithful, loving, and compassionate. We pray that the Lord will use these next few weeks to grow us, and to bring us closer to Him. We thank Him for showing us through this separation how much we love our girl. We thank Him for showing us how to love "the least of these" and pray that He will be glorified, not only in the good times, but in the hard times as well. 

"Be joyful ALWAYS, pray continually; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" 1 Thessalonians 5:16

Last Full Day with our Girl

Ryan and I spent the morning getting A's birthday presents in order to leave with our friend here to deliver to A on her birthday next week. We were so looking forward to getting to be here with her for her big sweet 16, but unfortunately, that just wasn't in the cards. We look forward with hope and anticipation to celebrating each and every other birthday with her. 16 years is just too long to have birthday after birthday without a loving family to call your own. 

This afternoon, we went to the orphanage to spend time with A. Our sweet friend Natalya came along with us to translate. We spent the afternoon listening to our sweet daughter talk non stop in rapid fire Russian:) We love how comfortable she is around us now. She is quick to give hugs, and loves to joke around with us. She asked me today, in Russian, if I ever got tan, because my skin is as a white as sour cream. This was the first jab I have received from my teenage daughter, and I thought it was pretty funny!

 Walking around today

 Hanging out by the "stinky river"

 The orphanage grounds are truly beautiful

 View of mountains in the distance

We took with us 3 dresses that we bought back home, and we had her try them on to see if they fit, and if she liked them. She had so much fun trying them on, and was laughing and smiling...it was perfect.

I tried not to dwell on the fact that we will have to say good-bye tomorrow, and still are uncertain of our return date. This is definitely not how we anticipated leaving on this leg of our trip. We rest in knowing that God has this all planned out. We are thankful that she will be able to stay at the orphanage until our return, and that she will not be sent to trade school. She is handling the delay very well, and that is the most important thing. 

Please continue to pray for peace for this Mama's heart while we are apart. Please pray that our court date will be assigned without any problems, and that all the roadblocks we have encountered will stay in the past. 

This morning I opened the Bible and read, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" Galatians 6:9. Our harvest will be bringing our sweet girl home forever. The Lord knows when the proper time for that is, and we must not grow weary or give up!! 

Day 10

Please note that I have taken down yesterday's post for the time being due to some privacy issues. 

Today was a nice relaxing day with no huge agenda. We gathered up the last of our papers from the inspector, and will take those with us to Kiev before we depart on Saturday. Our papers should be turned in sometime next week for final SDA approval. 

This morning, we went to the orphanage to spend some time with A. While we were there, we got to witness a weekly auction that they have. The kids can earn "money" each week by doing chores, etc. Then once a week some of the staff goes out and buys candy and cookies for the kids, and lets them bid on these goodies. The highest bidder wins the sweets. It was really fun to watch the different strategies of the kids, and how some of them would pool their "money" to win:)

 Kids checking out the auction items

 Me and the girls watching the auction

Mommy and daughter:)

While I enjoyed witnessing the auction, it also made my heart so heavy. Sitting in my presence were so many children that wore clothes that didn't fit, that were dirty, that don't have a Mama or Papa to love them. They have so little to look forward to each day, and each one of them deserves so much. It is truly heart breaking. 

Sweet girl wearing shoes about 3 sizes too small

This afternoon we did a little shopping and then went back to visit with A for a little bit. We left when it was time for her to go to dinner. Ryan and I headed back to our favorite place for dinner, Ciao. 

Yummy coffee drinks to end the day!

Tomorrow we will spend a lot of time with A, since we have to leave on Friday. Please continue to pray for us as we prepare to come home. Pray that we all will have peace until we come back for court. 

Galatians 5:6,"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

Day 7

Today was another relaxing day. Ryan and I got to spend 4 1/2 hours with our girl today. We spent the time playing a card game called "Fool". We still have no idea what the strategy is, or if there even is a strategy!! I think I kind of caught on, but could never explain it to you:)

 Playing Fool

We also watched Harry Potter in Russian, which A and her sweet friend really enjoyed. 

We were also able to visit briefly with a sweet boy who has a forever family coming for him soon! You can read about his extraordinary family here

"Ianto" reading a letter from his Mama on my phone:)

After our visit, Ryan and I tried another restaurant called Pappagrappa. The food was delicious! We ordered Focaccia Bread for an appeptizer. It was very thin and crispy, not like Focaccia we would normally order back home, but it still tasted great. I had a chicken skillet dish that had lots of yummy veggies in a cheesy cream sauce. Ryan ordered a veggie pizza. 

 Focaccia Bread

 Chicken and Veggies Skillet

Veggie Pizza

After dinner, we hit up our favorite spot Ciao on the way home for espresso and macaroons to go:)

We have thoroughly enjoyed a lazy week-end, but we are ready to knock out some business tomorrow! We will be on the road at 7:30 am to get our paper work complete and on the train to Kiev by tomorrow night. We will also go to the courthouse and beg the judge to agree to a court date. Normally, the judge waits until our paperwork has been signed off on in Kiev. We are praying he will agree to a date before this, to save a few days. 

Specific prayer requests: please pray that the judge will go ahead and assign us a court date. Please pray that we have no problems with finishing our paperwork tomorrow. Please pray that we will continue to bond with A, despite the language barrier. She is very nervous about coming to the US, please pray that her nerves will be calmed, and that excitement will take over her nervousness. Also, say a little prayer for me tomorrow. It is my precious baby girl Adalaise's 1 year birthday, and I am SO sad to missing it!!

Thank you to my sister Holly for this encouraging verse today, " With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and every deed prompted by faith" 1 Thessalonians 1:11

Relaxing Day

A relaxing day....finally!! Today, Ryan and I were able to spend 3 hours at the orphanage with our sweet girl. We spent a lot of time looking through pictures. Our google translate is only working from English to Russian, not Russian to English which is pretty frustrating. We were able to communicate pretty well despite google translate not working. 

A showed us around the grounds of her orphanage, and we talked about picking a middle name for her. Tomorrow we will go back for another 3 hours or so. Ryan and I found a DVD store this afternoon, and bought Harry Potter and Kung Fu Panda in Russian, so we plan to take that tomorrow, along with checkers:)

 Tattered rug in the entry way to the school at the orphanage

 Outside of the school

 The "TV Room" at the orphanage

 Orphanage grounds

Building being renovated near the school

 Dining Hall

 Walking with my girl

A's sweet friend joined us at the end of our visit. L has a forever family coming for her soon as well....praise the Lord!!

After our visit to the orphanage, Ryan and I explored our neighborhood. We really love this town. If it weren't SOOOO far away from home, we would love to visit here often! We took a lot of random pictures, and had the best dinner at a place called Bordo. We ordered way too much food, and as we have learned in Ukraine, they don't really "do" to go boxes, so we had to leave half of our pizza. After dinner, we went to Ciao for dessert, the place we ate at last night. 

 One of the nicest playgrounds we've seen in Ukraine!

"Coffeeman" truck parked near the nice playground

 My girls would have LOVED these balloon flowers and bees:)

We stumbled upon a Circus! I tried to get Ryan to go in with me, but he refused :(

 Pretty wooden doors

 Park right across the street from our apartment

 Underground flea market

 Above ground flea market

View from dinner

Part of our feast...a cheese plate (yay!!), grilled veggies, and the best pasta we have ever eaten...seriously! By the way, the pasta cost a whopping 32 gryvna ($4 USD!!)

 Chicken Diablo Pizza

Our left overs...notice the seeds on Ryan's plate from the serrano peppers on his pizza. They don't mess around with the Diablo Pizza here!

 Woman playing a violin, carved out of a tree

Two flutes at one time...impressive:)

 Pretty wrought iron fence

Beautiful church down the street from our apartment

 Doors to the church

Huge pot hole...we thought it was neat that you could see the original cobblestone underneath the pavement

 Enjoying my dessert!

Ryan's dessert...chocolate cherry ice cream ($2!!)

We are looking forward to another relaxing day with our girl tomorrow before getting back into the grind on Monday!

Ryan's daily bible verse for today was John 15:16, " You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you". What a great reminder for us as we are here, working hard to adopt the child He chose for us, long before we ever knew or dreamed of her!