QUICK update!

Hi all!

Tonight, Vasya, Tom and I went out for Turkish food here in Simferopal. We were celebrating! Our completed paperwork left tonight on a train bound for Kiev back to the AC for finalization. Vasya will get our appointment for court tomorrow and hopefully we get the paperwork back in time for our court appointment. If we don't...we get another appointment, but, well...time is a wastin'! Vasya has done a great job and has been very busy the last few days. We have been passive participants...sign here, here, here and here...he has done the rest.

What it all means is that we MAY have our court appointment next Tuesday. Hopefully our paperwork comes back Monday. Then court Tuesday, the 10 days of waiting...we will NOT be with the boys for those 10 days. They will be at their orphanages waiting...we will be at our flat doing the same. We can see them for an hour or two each day but it costs us $60 to make the trip to Djoncoy to see Zach...and about $35 to see Michael...so as much as we would like to see them every day, it isn't going to happen.

We spent about 6 hours with Zach yesterday while paperwork was being shuffled around. Six hours, small room, few toys, small boy, big parents...it was "interesting" to say the least. I thought Zach did WONDERFUL - if I were him, I wouldn't have lasted that long with us! He did great. But it was a LONG day!

Still no hot water in the flat - I just don't think it is going to happen! AND - since someday it is going to get cold here, they have decide to ration power (don't ask me to explain it - it just IS). So - our elevator turns off at 5 until 10 p.m. So, we get to climb 7 stories. Good exercise!

Vasya tells us there is an internet cafe closer to our flat that we can walk to - if it proves to be true, we will be able to post more often. We should know tomorrow!

Pray for the kids - they have some huge adjustments coming up. And they still have a long time to wait. Pray for us - we are ready to come home...we are and so is Vasya. Pray for him, he misses his family. Pray the paperwork goes exactly as it should and that it comes back by next Monday and we have court on Tuesday (any other day and we have a weekend and we can't get the boys on a weekend).

Vissyo!

Try these

Hi Folks - I'm posting a brief for L and T. We have had the opportunity to speak with both of them a couple times over the past few days. These are additional links to try to see another picture of Zach AND a couple of pics of Tyler. I don't remember which of these links wouldn't work for me... so there are several and may be duplicates! The boys are beautiful! They indeed have eyes that deep and beautiful blue blue blue. They both also have sweet smiles. They did get to spend time with Tyler today, and hope to have the paperwork going in on Monday to begin the official process. They will then probably be spending more time with Tyler than with Zach due to the distance between the two places, until the time they will be able to bring them with them for the final 10 days or so before they leave, and can begin to grow together as a family. And I will repeat what has been said before, please continue to pray for their family, & for the means to be able to achieve what needs to be done there (fondly referred to by me as the 2L5F prayer!!). We had a houseful yesterday and today (26 peoples including my folks at the elder end of things, and my newest grandsons who are 6 weeks and 5 months.) I put Tom on speakerfone yesterday and we all shouted greetings.

Thank you all for the prayers, thoughts, and comments. They have both told me that they could really feel people praying for them.

Fran (Lois' oldest, Wisest and Cutest sister!!! hehehe couldn't resist!! Of course, she'd emphasize the OLDEST part!)

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Little bits of broken hearts

Today we got to see Tyler. He was outside when we got there and when they found out we were there, they made him come inside and change his clothes. Since it is the weekend, he wasn't allowed to leave (no one had been told anything apparently). We had the perimeter we could walk. We also has Vasya to interpret and that was a first - we have been going it alone with Zach. Ty and Vasya talked - well, Ty talked and Vasya listened. Ty talked about his mother, his father, the boyfriends, grandma and generally about the not so great life he had. He also told us that Zach was moved to another orphanage because he was getting beaten up by older kids and was acting out because of it (can't blame him there!) anyway, you get the idea - these boys have had a rough life to this point.

Please pray that they can learn to trust again and that they can be little boys. Ty strikes me as knowing too much responsibility for his 9 years. He told us he was responsible for his little brother before they were in the orphanage and in the orphanage, too. Pray that we get this all in one court - it could cost a lot more, but in the long run, would be worth it. Pray for Tom and I - this is a lot of heart-wrenching stuff to have to hear and not be able to do anything with. It just IS.

Thank you for your prayers - keep em coming!

Vissyo!

Internet Cafe

Hi ALL! Vasya found us an internet cafe and I have about 5 minutes to update. Things are going great - Vasya thinks that we will be able to get the court in ONE court instead of two - that is good news. Money is tight but we are looking for 5 loaves and 2 fishes...and we aren't talking about the book store in Danville!

Both boys are beautiful (Tom says "handsome" would be a better description but...I say they are beautiful!) They have gorgeous blue eyes and wonderful smiles and...I am in love. We have had more time with Zach than with Ty but we will eventually have more time with Ty because he is closer (Zach is about an hour away).

Everything is going great - lots of official stuff that we just sign after Vasya explains it - he has a lot more work to do than we do. We are kind of just along for the ride and for the passports!

For now - Vissyo!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Greetings from Kiev. I (Janis) am updating the blog for Tom and Lois, as they are currently in Simferopol and have no phone in their flat (apartment) or access to internet.

This has been a VERY Happy Thanksgiving day for Tom and Lois, even without the turkey. They have found their kids!! Yesterday they met Zachary (the youngest). Today they met Tyler. Tyler was very scared when he first met Tom and Lois because he wasn't really told who they were and why they were visiting. Tom and Lois are hoping that he will feel more at ease when they spend time with him tomorrow.

After visiting Tyler, Tom and Lois went back to the orphanage in Zhon Koy where Zachary is. (Please forgive the spelling.) They were able to start the adoption paperwork process for him today. Zachary had to write his own letter requesting that he be adopted. He was given the wording of what to write. (Apparently children from the first grade and above are required to do this.) One big blessing for today--while the interpreter and the orphanage personnel were working on the paperwork, Tom and Lois got to play with Zachary--almost 1 1/2 hours. They had forgotten to bring toys, so all they had was a pencil and paper, but it was great nonetheless.

Pictures have been taken, but unfortunately Tom and Lois have no way to get them posted on their blog yet. Lois said that both boys have pretty blue eyes. Pray!!! I want to see what the boys look like, as I am sure you all do too.

Other specific prayer requests--
Pray that the money holds out. It is during this phase that the money starts flowing--especially if you want the paperwork expedited.

Also, pray that they will be able to get one court hearing instead of two. Since the boys are in different orphanages, they are under the jurisdiction of different courts. They are praying that the judges will allow them to be processed together. Otherwise, they will have to pay twice as much for the paperwork processing. And, lastly, that everyone will work together to get the adoption completed quickly.

And--if some of you are wondering what they ate for their Thanksgiving dinner--jerky (instead of turkey), cheese, and bread. Now doesn't that sound yummy!!

May I add the following--thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. It has meant an awful lot to them.

On the road again...

Yeah, nothing like Willy Nelson to sum up the feeling...I just can't wait to get on the road again.....

We leave in about 4 1/2 hours. I still need to pack up the computer and double check that we have what we need. Tom has the clothes packed and is sawing logs (but then Tom has to stay awake and entertain Vasya!)

Everything went fine at the AC. It was nice to be there and not feel like the sky was falling. I actually FOUND the bathroom there (for those of you who are planning to adopt here, you climb 4 sets of stairs to get to the AC...to go to the bathroom, you go down the only set of stairs you can go down when you walk in the building...men to the left, woman to the right. They are lovely squatty pots so bring your own TP ...but at least they HAVE one that is public and AVAILABLE!!!) We got our paperwork and were out of there in less than half an hour. Vasya and Kostya did some phone calling and got us a flat in Simferopal. I HOPE we can get connected to the internet at our flat. If not, it's the Internet Cafe's for us.

So, Kostya picked us up around 2:30 to go get our paperwork and we drive in to the city...and got stuck in massive amounts of traffic. Today was the one-year anniversary of the Orange Revolution. There was one street full of people covered in orange clothing...apparently walking to another street to meet the people dressed in blue (the other party) or red (the communist party). Kostya is NOT political...and basically said "Ah, yes, this revolution causes problems for all of us...even those not involved!" He got us turned around and went another way...he was going to take something and drop it off to a translator if we had time but with that delay, he didn't have time. He dropped us off and we went to the AC and got there about 4 (yeah - traffic was that bad). You really notice how the color and light level change at the top of the stairs when you are going there for a good thing...I heard the angels as I approached the top "AAAAAHHHHHhhhhhhhhhh...." and we went up and waited for about 20 minutes in the little sitting area, another 10 in the Scooby Doo hall and then we went in, signed the thing that said we understood it was free and report anyone who asks for money (again) and then they took Tom's passport, had him sign and we were done. The man helping us said (in English) "thank you and very good luck to you." We FEEL lucky. This is going to be awesome.

We were asking Kostya about how long this will take and HE says we will usher in the New Year in Kiev. Oh. Wow. Vasya does not agree. Either that or Vasya hopes not because he want to be with his wife and baby!!! Well, I hope not too. But if we are, we are! (But I hope we aren't!!!)

Well, I must pack up the old laptop and head South...and here is what we have been told might happen and a few things to pray for until we meet again on Thursday;

Please pray for safe travel, that we can meet both boys on Thanksgiving Day for us(TALK ABOUT A WHOLE NEW MEANING TO THAT DAY!). Pray that the judges and directors and all the official people involved with this will work quickly and pray that we CAN be home before 2006! I think I am catching cold (I am megadosing vitamin C for what it is worth)and a sore throat - please pray for my health - I don't want to be sick and snotty on Thursday!!! THANK YOU, AGAIN!!! We love you and we will update as soon as we can!

Vissyo!

I think I'm on the brink of something LARGE...

After a long nights sleep, we are up and ready to...get ready to go. We are repacking for about the 5th time and we want to take fewer bags of stuff. But this time we actually NEED the suitcase full of toys (and you know what...that suitcase has a LOT more cars and boy-toys than girl stuff. It has been hard for me to say good-bye to the possibility of a girl, let alone saying good-bye to younger children...but like so much else here, it is what it is and if this is my family, this is my family. But I have to tell you, the thought of being the minority in my own house is frightening!!!! I know Reta and Anita are used to it...but I am from a family of three GIRLS. With us and mom, WE RULED THE HOUSE!!! My father ALWAYS puts the toilet seat down! So...that will be an adjustment! But, I will have two wonderful boys, Tom will have kids to take golfing and to watch AND play basketball...and of course there is always NASCAR! THIS is what God had planned for us - WOW. Two boys...no, three boys and ME. Scraped knees, ROCK FIGHTS (yeah, Geordie THAT made me feel better!!!!), and visions of ink-filled squirt guns (right, Shelly!?), I can do this...really, I can!

I am kind of getting excited now (and I know it will get much worse after 14 hours in a car - those are very small walls to climb!!!)

We want to thank you ALL for all the prayers (we aren't asking for you to quit, though) - it has been awesome to read the responses and to know that we have so many praying for us...it is a wonderful thing to be a part of. Spaseeba Bolshoy! We love you guys so much - and we know you will love our boys, too.

The NEXT picture you see of two boys will be of our boys...THIS is a picture of our two "boy wonder's" - Vasya and Kostya. I took this while we were at the Ukrainian cafeteria yesterday (if you sniff in hard, you can still smell my fishy salad). Vasya is on the left and Kostya is on the right. You know have a picture of two people that need our prayers for various reasons! Kostya stays in Kiev to do all the running around and paperwork that has to be done here. Vasya is driving us to Simferopal and is, of course, our interpreter. He MAY have twice as much work to do. Vasya has a 3 month old baby boy and a wife that he will be away from as long as he is with us. He took his wife and son to her mother's this past weekend..and he already misses them!

Pray for Kostya and Vasya as they do all the behind the scenes official work. Pray that we can get the orphanage to move one of the boys back to the other region (half as much court time and travel) and pray that all goes smoothly. Pray for our boys - they will have a HUGE adjustment ahead of them. As much as it will be a change for all of us, they are just little boys. How scary would this be! We will get the measurements and all that as soon as we get them. I may post from here one more time before we head out at 4 a.m. but we will be without internet for a while...so keep checking on us, but be patient. You have an official blog break from 4 a.m. tomorrow morning until probably Thursday night (you do the math and figure out what time that is BACK THERE!)

Vissyo!

Can I breathe yet???

Well, let me just say that the whole Adoption Center experience is...well, it makes your insides feel like old, dead, dried leaves spun together with dehydrated, overcooked spaghetti. You feel fragile, brittle and messed up. I woke up feeling sick to my stomach (and could tell it was nerves) and I got worse as we got closer to the AC. Tom, of course, felt as cool as a cucumber. He was feeling good about today from the second he awoke. Many humorous things happened today - comic relief, I guess!

Kostya picked us up at 9:45 for our 11:00 appointment. We were doing pretty good until Kostya let out a gasp and explained that he was very low on gas...then he added, "but NO problem, if I run out, I have someone to push, right Tom?" He was, of course, kidding! We made it to the gas station and handed Tom a wad of money and said, "Tom, tell him Izvaneetya, prezhalsta...blah,blah,blah, blah..."(something quite long and Ukrainian.) HA! I laughed out loud on that one - I said I THINK Tom can get the Izvaneetya prezhalsta (which is "excuse me please") and Tom looked at him laughing and took the money and hung it out the window until the man came over. Kostya did the talking!

We got the gas and got to the AC at 10:45. We walked up the 4 flights of stairs and I noticed something interesting today. The part of the AC we deal with is the top floor (who knows what the other floors are - ). The halls are dark and painted grey and are just kind of institutional looking. As you reach the last 2 flights of stairs, suddenly the color changes to a light green and there is light shining. Like a special effect in a movie or something. You kind of expect to hear angels singing "Ahhhhhhhhhhh" as you round the corner. Instead you round the corner and land on the top level with a bunch of other people waiting to get in and their interpreters. All of us looking a little whipped and beaten...and SCARED. Today was Italian day. There was at least 3 Italian families waiting to go in. We sized up the competition (that is what it feels like!) and Tom said he thought he could probably take the guys. (again, some comic relief because I was about ready to climb the walls and we were ON the top floor so I'd have to go out to the roof). At 11:00, they called the 10:30 appointment in. Uhhhh. Hmmmm. At about 11:45 they called us in to sit in what must be the famous "Scooby Doo" hall which we weren't in for long the first time. (Scooby Doo because of the way people go in and out of the doors like in the cartoon when they are chasing or being chased). It is unbelievable - the same 6 or 7 people constantly going in and out of 3 doors over and over again. WHAT are they doing??? We sat in that hallway for about half an hour. So it is now 12:15 and they take lunch at 1.

Of course the next hour flies by. I told Janis that I think those books are like trying on perfume. Once you try on 3 or 4 perfumes, everything smells the same and you can't tell one from the other. I mean imagine a double sided paper with about 6 official stamps, and 1 inch by 1 inch picture and the rest Ukrainian writing and you re supposed to look at it and say "YES!!! THIS is my forever child, I just KNOW it!!!" You have so little to go on. Their age. A tiny medical diagnosis. An outdated picture that you often can't tell boys from girls. And from this you're supposed to commit to go and see them and really, to adopt them. Because those second and third appointments are very hard to get! So, in a sense, you are making a final decision based on so very little...it just leaves me feeling...numb.

We had a different social worker (Oksana - and she was much more helpful). Kostya said that she has worked there a long time and knows what she is doing. Apparently, the first Razor Phone woman had worked there about 2 months. Kostya was able to stay this time and he seems to have a good repoir with Oksana. So, the four of us sat down and started looking. Oksana asked what we were looking for, we told her and she said in Ukrainian, "I can work with you."

She handed Kostya two pages and the rest of us started flipping through books. We did the same thing (but the book WAS a different one) and we pulled out things and had things returned to the books due to various reasons. We got closer to the HOUR of decision and were down to two different groups of boys. The original one she had pulled out and one Kostya had found in the Simferopal region book. The one set had the younger one with congenital heart problems (uhhhh, could you be a little more specific??) The other two had a mostly healthy diagnosis. They have minor problems that are correctable...except one has behavior problems. They are in two different orphanages because of that. I am now doing the imitation of the robot on Lost In Space "DANGER!DANGER, Will Robinson, DANGER!" Tom is cool with it. Oksana couldn't get ahold of the director so she tells us to come back at 3. Okay.

Lunch Time. I think Vasya thought a good Ukrainian cafeteria would be ideal - he told us "then you can see and choose what you want." Uh, yeah Vasya - if we KNEW what it was we were looking at! I had the chicken that looked like a fried egg and some salad that I THOUGHT looked like the stuff I had last week. I took a big bite and found that it was similar...except for the layer of fishy, fishy FISH on the bottom. I didn't finish it. Kostya asked me "Do the issues scare you?" Tom, no - me, YES. I think Tom would have loved it if I had turned to him and said, "I feel exactly like you do - peace." Instead, I was more like "Uh, if the "behavior" issues are bad enough to write down...uh..." So here we are, Mr. Serenity and Mrs. Skeptic. We sat there for a while and then returned to the AC and tried calling more people.

Okay, more comic relief. It snowed last night and people walked on it all day making a nice Kievan layer of ice (that women in spiked heels can walk in without problems). We walked back to the AC and Kostya and Vasya were about 3 yards in front of us. I was holding on to Tom and thinking man it is slick out here when WOOOOOOSH...AAAAUggghhh! I let out a scream and down I go. Vasya and Kostya didn't hear or see me and just continued to walk on...Tom picks me up off the ground, we wipe off and continue as if nothing has happened. I MEANT to do that. I know they woud have freaked out if they HAD seen, so it was kinda nice (AND LESS EMBARRASSING) that they didn't. I didn't get dirty or wet and I am not injured - it was just so funny to watch them continue to walk to the AC as if we were right behind them and I was splayed all over the sidewalk!!!

Vasya had to make about 9 calls to finally get somewhere - they tranferred the youngest one to a specialized school due to his behavioral problems for one year. But that school/orphanage said that he was at the top of his class (first grade) and had given them no problems. He was intelligent and bright and his behavior would be the responsibility of his new parents. He would fit in to any family very well. The other boy (2nd grade) was fine, friendly and gets along well with his brother. So then we had to decide - do we want to try to get brothers in different orphanages? It costs more and takes more time. Uhhh - YOU MUST DECIDE TOM AND LOIS.... Okay, at least Tom has peace so yes, we will go. We are going to Simferopal and a place 45 miles away to see the boys. We will probably see both boys on Thanksgiving - how cool is that?

So....it's A BOY. And another BOY! They are 8 and 9 and unless we get down there and there is something seriously wrong with them, I think we have our kids!

Pray for us all - we have a 14 hour trip to Simferopal (and we thought we were going to miss the drive to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving! It's about the same distance!). We have two of everything to deal with - two orphanages, two directors, etc. It MAY be possible to get the other boy transferred back to the other region to complete the adoption...maybe. It is something we have to work out there. Pray for that. Pray that we "click" with them and they with us. Now starts the odd stuff - getting to know our new babies that are not BABIES. Pray that they will bond to us and they will want to be loved (it's a problem with orphans). Pray for safe travel (Vasya is driving us instead of taking the train and then trying to figure out how to get a taxi back and forth to the other orphanage). Pray that our money holds (two regions doubles the cost of paperwork and legal fees). Sheesh - I don't know. JUST pray!

Vissyo!

Here it comes...

Tom here...

I have gotten to love the David Crowder song - A Beautiful Collision. It is a wonderful worship CD - if you don't own it... you should.

We are just about ready to picked up for our appointment. Thanks in advance for all your prayers. We love you and feel the Lord's presence.

Next post... I pray will be great news.

Love,

Tom and Lois

Sunday again!

Did church with Randy and Janis and then we went for...PIZZA at Vesuvio's (our third time!) I have eaten pizza more since I have been here than I ever would have at home! That and regular Coke - I think I have had 2 "Coke Light's" since I got here (and they don't have Diet Coke w/Lime or Coke Zero!!!). I must say, it is good pizza! We also went to the main Renok (which is much cleaner and nicer than I remember it!).

There I found the lovely bouquet of fish...waiting for purchase - buy one, buy a dozen!

Across the street is a familiar site...TGIFridays' in Kiev!

TOMORROW...is the appointment. We are nervous, excited, scared, freaked out...wondering what is going to happen. We will be glad when tomorrow morning is over! The next post from us will be SOME news - we can tell you where we are going, when and who we are looking at. Pray that it is two children. I'd still like twins around 5 or 6 but...I'm beginning to wonder if that is too young. So I will stop wondering and we will just SEE WHAT HAPPENS!!!!

For those of you crazy, devoted people who are getting up at 3 a.m. to pray for us, THANK you! Please make a comment so I know you were here when we get back - that will be so cool. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You make us proud to be a part of your family!

Vissyo!

Tourists!

Well, yesterday was beautiful and the sun shined so we decided to be tourists today and check out the sites...and it snowed ALL day!!! It was cold, wet, and we had a great day anyway. Not a lot that will get us down at this point, I don't think!

We spent the day with Sasha and went to St. Andrew's and St. Sofia's - this pic is St. Sofia's bell tower...or today...St. SNOWfia.

We went in to St. Andrew's and down the decent (which is tourist central). St. Andrew's is a beautiful church - LOVE the architecture here. We ate lunch at a Ukrainian buffet! Called Home Cooking (but in Ukrainian) and it was ALL Ukrainian food. It was delicious (we stayed pretty safe with Chicken Kiev again!).

We CLIMBED the bell tower in the pic...it got kinda scary 2/3rds of the way up...windy, wet, cold and, uh...high! We chose to not go the last tier...the weather was bad enough you couldn't see much...and...it was SCARY!

Vissyo! 

GREAT PICS but GREATER NEWS!!!

Make sure you read the post earlier - couldn't get the pics to post on that!

And THEN you know what happened???

We had a great day today. We woke up to the sun shining (it hasn't since we got here) and we had plans to visit with Sasha all day. We did the Kiev Shuffle (marshutka, metro, switch over to other line metro, marshutka and walk) and got to her house right about lunch time. She served us lunch and then asked us if we wanted to go to a big store like Wal-Mart. SURE. Why not? We walked for about 25 minutes and came across two stores - one called Epicenter and one called Metro. Epicenter is like a Home Depot/Lowe's - we didn't go in because we weren't looking to build anything (we kinda TIRED of building with the speed remodeling we did before we left). We went in to Metro. It is more like Sam's Club/Costco than Wal-Mart. You have to have a card to get in (although Sasha says it doesn't cost anything) and it really was like Sam's. They had Christmas stuff out (even the giant inflatable trees and Santa's) and everything you could think of like curling irons, electric teapots, shower stalls (like jacuzzi type with 6 shower heads) and fresh fruit and meant - uh, did I mention it was like Sam's? Most interesting thing I found? Lychee nut - fresh on the stem. (ok - it's a Japanese fruit and I love them but in the US you can usually find them canned except every once in a blue moon when Meijer's has them fresh). Here they had them still on the stem, about 12 -15 fruits and...the equivalent cost of about $25...!!! We did NOT buy them. Sasha wondered if perhaps they were gold on the inside. Outrageous price - but who would have thought you would find them in Kiev! So we had a good time looking around and found a couple of girls handing out samples in "cute" outfits and Tom said TAKE A PICTURE...so I made him get IN the picture but if you look, you can see...it looks like....Sam's Club!

We went back to Sasha's and had dinner (we eat a LOT here) and had torte (fantastic - nothing is the US to even compare it to) and had a great time of conversation. Aside from just being able to hang out with Randy and Janis and feel like we are at home in their home, this was the most relaxed and enjoyable time we had. It felt like we were 10 years younger and we just enjoyed out time hanging out with Sasha again. We made plans to go to Andreiski Spus (St. Andrew's Descent I believe) tomorrow (to see the one church we never got to see 11 years ago).

Oh, and did I mention that Kostya called while we were there and talking about the whole adoption process with Sasha and talking about God being in control and wondering about it all? Well, HE DID. He said "Lois, I have good news - you have an appointment at the AC on Monday at 11:30." WOW! How did you do that? Thursday it is "eeehhhh...nothing is going on this week." and Friday it is "uh, Lois and Tom, really - nothing is going on until next week - everyone is gone..." and today it is "Monday at 11!" We are very excited.

Sooo - time to switch gears in the prayer department. We need prayer that THIS time it will be a good appointment and it will be a good referral - no surprises, no tearing through the book to have everything taken back - we want success this time. I can not imagine what would happen if we got a second appointment, a bad referral and then asked for another - it would not be good. So pray that this all works out for us. Kostya said, "You are good people and God is smiling on you." Well, we are God's people - and today we not only felt the sun, we felt the SON! It was a GOOD day!

Reality and Perspective SMASH in to each other once again...

It is 5 a.m. in Illinois. You are all sleeping (I would hope!). It is 1 p.m. here and the day has not been uneventful.

Randy and Janis have an interpreter named Ira and Ira's father has been ill with kidney cancer for quite some time. Last Sunday, we knew he was in the hospital. Randy called to talk to Ira last night and found that they had sent him home to die. This morning, Randy and Janis packed up some food and went to see Ira and her family. They arrived a few minutes after her father had passed away. Ira's father was not a Christian - he had his own way and his own opinion. He wasn't interested in his daughter's "religion."

So...while we are enduring what seems like an eternity of not knowing what is going on in OUR lives, Ira has to deal with the fact that her father has died without Christ. I thank GOD and praise Him that I do not have to worry about my parents and their eternal destination. What a difficult thing that would be to have to go through. Pray for Ira and for her mother (who is also not Christian). Ira IS Christian and she will make it through this - but it will be a rough road for a while.

Vasya called and kind of updated us with a more English version of what Kostya told us yesterday. Apparently the AC director..has LEFT the building. She is (as Vasya put it) "on leave" or "taking a Holiday" or "is abroad." Take your choice - she isn't here and she isn't taking appointments! He also told us that Kostya has another family that took a referral - they were looking for a girl under 5 and took a referral for a boy aged 10. I thought we were pretty broad with our requests. We wanted boys or girls from 2 to 8...we MAY end up coming home with a teenager!!! (oh, please, gimme a few years before the hormones hit!!!). I am not sure why Vasya informed me of this - perhaps to get it in our heads that we have to think even broader than we have been.

Eeeh. I just wish it were all clearer. I want what God wants for us...I just don't have any idea what that is. And you may thing "Oh you will KNOW it when you see them..." but it isn't coming through to us that way. It isn't nice and clean. With Vanya and Dima it was kind of a sick acknowledgement that these weren't our kids. I just don't know.

But...I DO know where my hope comes from - even if I am not feeling very hopeful... I know who is in control. I know it isn't me. Thank God for that. And I know it isn't the director of the AC. And I thank God for that, too.

And as they say here - "Vissyo." or "That's all"

Some pics...

Since we don't have any new "news" I thought I would give you a taste of Kiev...

Us and the Ukrainian flags downtown...










Bread, eggs and fish...what more do we need?







Perhaps a friendly street vendor...












I know I told you that McD's was everywhere...


but did you know they had a Napa Auto Parts, too?

It's TRUE Steve...okay, not really.

More tomorrow!

It's gonna be a sloooow week.

Well, to start of with the good, Randy is back from Nepal. A missionary in Ukraine on a mission trip to Nepal - pretty cool. He did a conference for pastors in Nepal and had a wonderful time of sharing. It appears the Christian people of Nepal are hungry and eager for God. He had some great pictures and it was so good to see him. We are thanking God that he returned here safely.

Another thing on my mind is James Boateng. I hope he is doing better - I heard he was in the hospital. If ever there was a man who deserves to be visited by a million well-wishers, it would be James. I hope he is on his feet and out doing God's work again very soon. We are praying for him.

Well, we called Kostya and got some not so great news. It isn't the worst news, but it isn't great either. Apparently there are many people here trying to get their second appointments. Apparently things are kind of a mess at the AC right now. Apparently...they aren't taking appointments for ANYTHING this week. Not for the books and not the AC director. I guess that is one way to avoid problems...JUST SAY NO. Kostya said things are very, very difficult right now but he is still trying. Heavy, heavy sigh. I have visions of being here for another week, starting in on Tom's FMLA and then...being told to GO HOME and come back in a few months. As you can imagine, it is pretty easy to get depressed and down about anything. Here, no news is...no news. And when we asked for news, it was bad.

I don't know what more we can ask for - more prayer? Prayer that we get in before all the other desperate parents-in-waiting? None of it is fair and none of it makes sense. Tom has done some math and the estimated figures of the orphans in Ukraine is 100,000 (from the figures found in a documentary). If only half are registered, then we have 50,000. Say half of them are way to ill - we are down to 25,000. And we saw papers on about 250. WHERE are the children?

So. I don't know what to do with my self. I guess I will post some pictures. Later.

Keep on praying - it feels like it's gonna take a miracle.

Some thoughts...

Hello!

If you haven't figured it out yet... Lois has done all the postings up to this point. It wasn't that I didn't have anything to say, but she said it for me. I have been thinking of a few things and wanted to share some of my thoughts with you.

ADOPTION...
There is tons of paperwork and as difficult as the paperwork was to complete the first time - the second time was much easier! We had our problems, but nothing was as difficult as looking at those books and trying to pick your children. I don't know if you could ever feel the same thing Lois and I felt... you would have to live it yourself. Then the trip to see the boys... it still brings a lump into my throat and a tear to my eye! Maybe the most difficult thing I've ever had to do?

You know as Christians the Bible says we are adopted into God's family... we are grafted in! We are not a part of the chosen people, but we are now! I don't feel adopted - that's because my Father has done such a good job! You know I want my kids never to feel like they are adopted... they will be my kids and I hope they know the love I feel for them is genuine.

FAMILY...
You know I've always thought as Lois and I as a couple - not a family. The truth is once you become a Christian you enter the family of God. The church is much bigger than just the church we belong - Second Church of Christ. People here in Kiev are praying for us... we had people in Nepal praying for us and we have people in the States praying for us... we are fortunate to have so many people love us! I can tell you that I have felt your love and I am thankful for being a part of your family. I pray that one day Lois and I will have children and we can teach them what FAMILY is all about!

SERVING...
I have been spending a fair amount of time reading a Rob Bell book called, "Velvet Elvis." If you haven't read it - I highly recommend it! Rob Bell is the pastor of Mars Hill church in Grand Rapids, MI and it is one of the fastest growing churches in American history... he was 28 years old when he started it and had over 1000 people at the first service. BTW, there was NO advertising the first service - there wasn't even a sign out front of the building. Two years later his church has over 10,000 members! He is doing something right! I tell you this not to impress you - just to let you know that he has been effective... or should I say, God has been effective through him!

I have been moved by his writing and completed his book just yesterday. I'd like to share a few quotes with you... "The church is at its best when it gives itself away." Wow! Can I tell you that is a powerful statement? Well, it is!!! I have felt the love of the church since I have been here and I can tell you it makes me proud to be a believer! People praying for us and crying with us... you are giving and we have received! This idea continues with another quote, " The church doesn't exist for itself; it exists to serve the world. It is not ultimately about the church; it's about all the people God wants to bless through the church. When the church loses sight of this, it loses it heart. This is especially true in the world we live in where so many people are hostile to the church, many for a good reason. We reclaim the church as a blessing machine not only because that is what Jesus intended from the beginning but also because serving people is the only way their perceptions of the church are ever going to change. This is why it is so toxic for the gospel when Christians picket and boycott and complain about how bad the world is. This behavior doesn't help. It makes it worse. It isn't the kind of voice Jesus wants his followers to have in the world. Why blame the dark for being dark? It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn't as bright as it could be."

You are shining bright!

We love you and could not do this on our own! We have a family who loves us and we love you! Keep shining and we will, too!

Love,

Tom (and Lois)

Quiet Monday.

We were supposed to have dinner with Sasha but didn't hear from her. She was in Dnipro all weekend teaching adults how to do Children's Ministry. It was a quiet day and I didn't really feel like going out - I am tired. Sooo - we pulled out Scrabble (Janis beat us big time) and then pulled out some of Janis and Randy's movies and watched a few (Rocketman and Cool Running). They were pretty cute and didn't take a lot of brain power to watch.

Then we listened to a Rob Bell sermon which was very interesting - in Ephesians about it being by grace we are saved and not by works and how if you miss the verse after that, you are missing the crescendo of the whole passage - WHY we are saved by grace. We are His workmanship - His artwork, per se, and we were created to do good works. To do MITZVAT - to do good things for other people. We get so caught up thinking we have to have the right words to convince people that they need Jesus and, here it says we were created to DO GOOD WORKS. It doesn't save us - but it is what we should be known for. Thanks to all of you who are praying and interceeding for us. Keep up the good work!

* For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

I have to talk about Shooba - (Shooba is Russian for fur coat but in this house, Shooba is a poodle). Shooba has been entertaining us to no end. She is a wonderfully fun distraction. Tom likes her enough to think someday he could have a dog like Shooba (and if you know Tom...it is highly unusual that he would want ANY animal, let alone a poodle). So - you know Shooba is an exceptional dog!

Kostya picked up our pictures around 2:30 so we know nothing is going to happen today. Maybe tomorrow night. We are playing the waiting game now.

We also heard from our former youth group interpreter Leana. She is back in Kiev and we will plan on meeting with her later. It is so great to get to see people that we thought we would never see again.

It is odd to be doing things like watching movies and playing Scrabble. It isn't what we would normally do if we were on vacation. It doesn't feel very productive. I wish we were getting to know our kids. I pray we are soon...until then we wait!

Church and old friends.

We went to church (takes about an hour on the marshutka) and the lesson was on Ephesians 10:3-18 - the Full Armor of God. It was quite enjoyable (and it was interpreted in to English for us!). We had some time of fellowship and some tea and coffee and then we headed off to Sasha & Ira Bulatsev's house. They are the parents of our friend Kirill who lived with us for about 10 months back in 1995. It was great to see them and they had a surprise for us. When were here in 94, we were very close to a brother and sister Andre and Julia - Andre was 16 and Julia was 14. We found out yesterday for the other Julia that Andre married Toma (who was also in our youth group) but she didn't know where his sister Julia was. Well, we found her at Sasha and Ira's. I had forgotten that they were related. It was SO good to see them all. Julia is now 25. Wow.

We are getting to be real pro's at riding the Metro's now - just like old times. When we got back to the stop we are staying at, we decided to stop at McDonald's. Their menu is amusing - McEverything, of course. There is a flat bread here called lavosh - it is kind of like Boboli crust. Well they have McLavosh. And a few other menu items NOT normally found at McD's. Like fried cheese and big thick french fries. We hope to take our kids there before we leave as a bit of a common ground - McD's in Ukraine and McD's in the US. They even have Happy Meals (they are doing Chicken Little here, Art - what are they doing there?) Anyway, we took the placemat to bring home and I took some pictures, just because...that is what I DO!

Tomorrow Kostya takes our letter to the AC to beg for another appointment. Pray that the people at the AC grow a heart and decide they want to give us another chance and...a good referral while they are at it!

Saturday in Kiev.

It's been a week - it feels like we have been here a month.

I know that hearing something worse than what you have been through shouldn't make you feel better, and I guess it doesn't really make me feel BETTER - but it does put a perspective on our experience.

There is a couple from the US here that has been here since some time in October. They had their referral and went to meet their two daughters. They started the proceedings and took a couple of weeks getting to know their new daughters - visiting them daily at the orphanage...everything was going along great. These people fell in love with their new children. And their new children fell in love with them. Can you imagine? How exciting.

Then their worst nightmare came true - the girls couldn't be adopted. For some reason, the paperwork was messed up and these girls were not available and wouldn't be for over a year or more. They had to leave the girls. The girls had to be abandoned. For the second time in their lives. How awful would that be?

As much as I felt like I was having my heart ripped from my chest, at least these boys didn't think they were coming home with us. They just thought we were people who talked weird and took pictures of their ow-ies. We weren't momma and daddy to them. We were just people. These girls thought they were going home. Talk about an ouch.

They were able to get an second appointment and they are now in Odessa proceeding with two boys - but it isn't like those girls will ever leave their hearts or their minds. Like I said - what a different game it is we are playing here. They certainly don't play by the rules.

Anyway, it didn't make me feel "better" - if anything, I hurt for all of them. But it made me thankful that I didn't get to know these boys and to love these boys. I will never forget them - but they WILL forget me. And for that, I am thankful. Very thankful.

Today we went to the Post Office, to visit a friend from 11 years ago and to do some grocery shopping in a SUPERMARKET - a REAL supermarket called Billa. I was amazed. Like I had never been in a supermarket - but this was in Ukraine! Of course the problem with loading your cart full of groceries here is that you have to get them home! So...after loading up on groceries, we stuffed it in to 5 canvas bags (Janis was prepared) and a plastic bag you have to pay for at the store. And then we begin the trek - out the door, down the walk, down the stairs, under the street, up the stairs, down through the Metro walkway, back up to the street and across the street and on to a Marshutka (which is a half van/half bus...Tom calls them marsupials). Then we ride for about 30 minutes, get off and run to another marshutka and get on it for about 5 minutes and then walk about 5 blocks to the flat. At least the elevator is working or it would be 10 flights up (and they have had times that the elevators did NOT work- but not since we have been here). It takes forever to do anything here - and you can see why. It takes not having a car to be thankful for the car you have - and I am THANKFUL for my car! I am thankful for Wal-Mart. I am thankful for America. And I am thankful for Billa, here in Ukraine.

We bought dinner at Billa and came home to prepare it - we had...Chicken Kiev. How funny is that? It was pretty good, too!

Janis printed off the picture of Dima and Vanya. Kostya wants to take them with him when he takes the begging letter on Monday. He thinks it may help the cause. It is hard to look at those pictures - but both of the boys have beautiful brown eyes. Heavy sigh.

I'm heading to bed. Church tomorrow - and it takes a marshutka and about an hour to get there. Night!

Another day.

Well, eventually I went to bed last night. We both slept well. Vasya and Kostya called and said they would be over around 5 to write a request for another appointment to the Adoption Center. We had a late lunch and just hung around with Janice. I didn't have any desire to go out and about today.

I know this is silly, but everything is so different here - it is funny how you find odd things that comfort you. Here at Janis' house there are two things - her cooking (she cooks American - today we had Apple Strudel muffins for breakfast - mmmm) and...her shower. Her shower doesn't look American. It is a tub that would kill my mother to try to climb up in - it is about 4 foot tall. The faucet is about a foot and a half long and it goes in both the tub and the sink - it swings back and forth. This is normal Ukrainian stuff. She told us that she was having problems with the shower head before we came and she told Randy she didn't want to mess with it with us here - so they bought a new shower/faucet combo. Randy installed it before he left for Nepal. That shower is WONDERFUL. You get in there and close your eyes and - you are home. I TOLD you it was silly - but it is what it is! So - here I am in Kiev and I have a shower for my sanctuary! So, late lunch, long shower and waiting to talk to Kostya and Vasya.

They got here close to the planned time and told us what we had to do. I had to write another letter that they would write first and then Vasya would translate it and I would write it in English. Another letter - dread starts to well up in my throat. They took about 30 minutes to artfully compose this letter in Ukrainian - and they were speaking back and forth to each other. I was getting a tiny bit of what they were saying and I asked them - we are basically BEGGING for another chance, aren't we? Yes. Another family today asked for a second appointment and were given one - NEXT FEBRUARY. If you know me at all, you know I can not hide my emotions -AT ALL. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. Apparently Kostya saw that in my face and said "It will be alright Lois - it will be alright. I told you it would be hard and it is - this is hard work but it will be okay." Can I tell you - if THIS is the labor of my paper pregnancy - I want an epidural and I want it THREE DAYS AGO!

So, they finish the letter and they read it to me and in a nutshell, it says that we went to meet the boys on November 11th and that we were told by their doctor that they have a skin disease that is very serious and that it is permanent. We are not proceeding with the adoption because many children with this disease die before they are four. We are true believers in Christ and we do not have any children and we do not want to lose our adopted children to this disease. Please consider us for another appointment as soon as possible as we are ready to adopt two children ages 2 to 9. Sincerely, Us. Yeah - THEY wrote in the 'true believer' part. They know we are because we told them that from day one - we know God is in control and we were not planning on being picky or difficult. Of course that doesn't mean the AC is not going to be difficult. I think they are professionally difficult!

It is interesting - we have asked Kostya if he goes to church (Janis asked him) and he said "Not too often." But on many occasions, he told us to pray because we knew who was in control of all this. They are both such good guys - they are really pulling for us. Pray for them - they have a tough job and they live in a tough country. And, as I said before - they are really good people. So we ARE getting quite a list of specific people to pray for. Today when Kostya came in, he said he wasn't feeling too well - some sort of virus maybe. He had a hankerchief that he put up around his mouth. We joked with him that he looked like he was playing cowboys and Indians. He put out his hands like guns and laughed. He said "I do this just for you so that YOU do not get sick and you are giving me hard time!" Yup.

So we had the Ukrainian letter composed by Kostya, written by Vasya. Then we had the English one spoken to me that I wrote. Once again, I had to write out why we rejected and refused to adopt Vanya and Dima. And then beg for another chance to look at some more children. What an odd game this is we are playing.

The plan is that Kostya submits this on Monday morning and we wait. Kostya will check Monday evening and Tuesday evening and on until we find out if they give us another chance or if we come back next year. Pray that we get another appointment and that this one goes better - that we actually find some children to go to that we can adopt.

Until then, we have set up some appointments with friends here. Tomorrow we will see artist Julia (she painted all the little rocks in my office on top of my file cabinet). Sunday we will go see Marina - she will meet us at Kreshatik and take us to her flat. Marina was 11 when we were here. She is 22 now and works for a lawyer downtown. On Monday we will go to Sasha's house and have dinner with her. We don't want to make many plans past that as we don't know when and if we will be on the road again. We still want to do some touristy things (like go to the ancient cathedral that was being redone when we lived here). We will probably have plenty of time. Randy gets back from Nepal on Wednesday - it will be good to see him.

So - pray we get another appointment and that if we do - it goes well. The next few updates will probably be very less emotional (Ooh - I sound Ukrainian). I know I could handle a few days of less emotion!

Thanks - all of you for your prayers and comments. We really appreciate it. We love you all - thanks for walking this road with us.

Ouch.

It has been literally foggy here for the last three days. And it has been foggy figuratively, too. I feel like I can't even exhale without crying. No, it isn't a feeling - t is reality. My eyes leak...a lot. I am completely consumed with a feeling that I can't categorize.

Last night before our visit I sat awake and thought, no basketball, no walking to school. Maybe not even school. If the sores look bad, people will think they are contagious - they will not want to be around them. The rest of our lives. Could I do it? Is that what God wants? I listened to Rob Bell sermon and he had a guest speaker from South Africa talking about his adopted son who is now cured of AIDS. What does this mean to me? Is this supposed to help me make a decision? I know God can heal. I know God can do anything He wants to do. But it doesn't mean He will.

We went to see the boys. Vanya and Dima. Before we saw them, we went through a lot of waiting and red tape. It turns out that these boys are in a "special" orphanage (read...not a good sign). Vasya didn't know that - the name doesn't indicate it. It is an orphanage for very sick children. I SO wanted them to be misdiagnosed. EB is an incredibly rare disease. Maybe they were just wrong. We picked up people who were from the ministry of health (again - not a good sign, it means that this orphanage is not even under the same rules as the other ones).

We eventually got to the orphanage and went in to the director who was a very well dressed man who complemented us for this great deed we were doing to consider these children (what have we gotten in to?). We asked all the questions we had prepared. He answered all of them with answers that continued to lead down the path of EB. He said he had taken the boys to a leading skin specialist in Kiev and that she diagnosed the EB. Apparently, when Vanya was first born, the hospital where his mother gave birth CLOSED the hospital because they thought they had given this baby some sort of infection. It was closed for three months while they tried to figure out what the problem was with Vanya. They couldn't figure it out. Neither of the parents have anything. When Dima was born with the same thing, the mother gave them both up.

We asked about the location of the sores and if we could take pictures. (We eventually did). He brought in their doctor. We asked her about the supposed "wonder spray" that had worked on them and the director brought it in. It was Banana Boat Aloe Vera with lidocaine. Not even a medicine. The told us it made it lessen and the boys were living the high life while they had it. It made the sores go away quicker. But it did not get rid of them. They said the boys are not on any pain medication, so I would guess that the tiny bit of lidocaine relieved some of their pain. The doctor said it DID hurt them. And, did we want to see the boys? Gulp. Yes, of course.

So here we were, 5 of us in an office smaller than mine at the church. And then the doctor, too. Then two of the caretakers brought in the two boys. So now there are 10 of us in this tiny office. The boys are bundled up from head to toe but Dima has blisters on his lips and in his mouth (not a good sign). We ask more questions. Dima is tiny (stunted growth...yet another bad sign) and does not walk yet (he is a little over 2). He does not speak either (he points and grunts). It is obvious that both are very alert and intelligent. Vanya is thoroughly enjoying candy from the director's desk. Eventually, they move to the outer office and the doctor asks if we would like to see Vanya's body. He cries in pain as they take off his clothes and reveal huge blisters on his back. You could see redness all around his neck. Blisters on his head, neck, back, feet and legs. Tom was able to see that most of his fingernails were gone (bad sign). And to make matters worse, they told us that Dima was much worse than Vanya. That would be true when you see the sores on his mouth. 85% of infants with it bad, die before 2. I am surprised that Dima made it passed 2. I do believe the Ukrainian doctor diagnosed it correctly. And here we are with two adorable, intelligent, blistered, always and forever genetically messed-up boys.

What are we supposed to feel? I can tell you what we DID feel. Pity. But neither of us felt like these were our boys. But that didn't leave us feeling okay. Part of me feels like I SHOULD be able to take these boys and love them no matter what. But then I think - if they were BORN to me - if I was dealt this hand, then I could do it - but do I WANT to pick up a losing hand? I had a dream before I came about having to bury one of my children and it was more of a nightmare. I don't want to HAVE to bury a child. I don't want to sign up for pain. I don't WANT to be stretched that way!

So we left. I think our interpreter was feeling almost as bad as us. Shell-shocked I think. We had a three hour wait until the head of the department there was back. So we walked around town, went to the Lesya Ukrainka museum (Ukrainian poetess that we actually knew who she was) and went to the Orthodox church and took some pictures. We had lunch as I sat there feeling complete emptiness. God didn't whisper or yell. We just knew. And it made me disgusted that I couldn't handle it - or WOULDN'T handle it. But - we both knew. I couldn't even imagine trying to get those tiny damaged bodies back to the US. I couldn't even go forward with the thoughts. It just wasn't in my head. My heart hurt for them - I wanted to send over cases of aloe vera to them, but I didn't want to bring them home. And even that makes me feel rotten.

Eventually, some of the right people were there. We went in to a dark hall, a light room and in to another dark room that was ice cold (which seems fitting). We sat and waited and eventually were brought a paper to sign - but first, I had to translate it to English with Vasya's help. So - I had to write out why we were refusing to adopt these two boys. Why we were rejecting them. I had to write that we were unable to provide for them physically or medically - they were too seriously ill. It caught in my throat as I wrote it and I lost it. Rejected. Refused. Ouch.

I don't know why we had to go through that. Any of it. Perhaps it is so we can add two more boys to our growing list of Ukrainian boys we specifically pray for (we already pray for Misha and Alosha - two boys we wanted to adopt 4 years ago but for various reasons were unable to...but we never MET Misha and Alosha). So all of you, add Vanya and Dima to your prayer list. Pray for healing, for God's will - for a family stronger than we are to adopt them. And pray for us. I know you are - we can feel it. We couldn't have made it through that valley without you.

Not all of the right people were there - so not all of our paperwork was signed (they love paperwork and official seals here). Now we wait and we hope. The earliest we can request another appointment at the AC is Monday - and that is just a request. It can take up to 10 days to get an answer as to whether or not an appointment is granted. Our paper work is still in Zhitomir until Saturday. Monday Kostya will request the appointment and then we wait once again. I hope we can spend the next few days just being tourists and trying to categorize what we just went through in to something that makes some sense. It MAY be one of those things we just don't get on this side of heaven. I am not angry at God. I don't understand, but He never asked me to understand, just to believe that He knows what is best. And - I do.

Our spirits are bruised - but not broken. We are back at Janis's (and it feels like as close as we can get to being home). It is good to have friends on both sides of the earth covering you in prayer and loving you. Thank you.

We love you - Keep praying.

What a day.

I want to blog about all the things we have seen and start with the positive before I blow you all out of the water with the bad.

Last night we met with Sasha, our interpreter from 11 years ago - it was great to see her and hear about what her life has been like. We went to Vesuvio's for pizza AGAIN and it was great AGAIN! We talked to Sasha about all the changes in Kiev (both good and bad) and we asked her if we were paranoid or if people were staring at us - she told us "No, people are probably staring - it is obvious you are American..." and we said WHY? She said "It is two things, your smiles and your eyes...you smile all the time and we don't. And your eyes - you are always looking with interest at everything. We know what is here and we don't look - we just look ahead and walk on...you look everything over." Hmmm. I guess we are easy to spot. But I don't see changing that anytime soon!

Now on the appointment. We had our appointment today at 11:00. You walk up 4 flights of stairs and then stand in tiny room panting for air. There are two doors (one on each side) and people go in and out and in and out. We were told to wait and when Vasya gave us the signal, follow quickly behind him. We waited for about an hour and then we went to the last room and sat with an attractive lady who asked us where we worked and what we wanted. Then the books came out. Six books full of pictures. We went through the books quickly and Vasya pulled out several that fit the age requirement - he said we would look at the health later. After about 5 books, he told me to start looking through the pile we had pulled out (which was about 7 sets of kids). I went through those and narrowed it down to about 4 sets. She took those 4 and systematically said something was wrong with each of them (grandma objected to adoption, had older siblings, siblings objected, etc.) and then we had a pile of nothing. Deep breath. Gloom. Impending doom...

She hands us two boys that another couple said they are not interested in - I don't know if they went to see them or not. She said they have an all-over skin rash. It was congenital and incurable. The name was unfamiliar to our interpreter (and of course, to us). A skin rash? How bad can that be? Well, three other couples had seen them and decided not to get them...but maybe they didn't want imperfect children. I was thinking exzema or something like that. They were a possibility and young - 2 and 3.

We decided to look at the single children. The older ones were OLDER - like 10 to 12 (although they were in the 5 to 8 book). So we looked at the younger book. They all had something seriously wrong. Like HIV or CP or Down's. Very hard book to look at. Very sad. More depressing gloom.

And then...it was time for them to go to lunch. So we went with the two rash boys. How bad could it be? Well, turns out it could be AWFUL. The term we were given is BULYOZNYI EPIDERMOLID - and what we went with (and were correct as Vasya eventually was able to translate it to Latin) was Epidermolysis Bullosa. Yeah. It's very rare...but Chel and Ki and Tom and I have seen a movie on it about the boy who lost his skin.

Did you hear the wind leave my lungs in a gasp? Did you hear my heart drop to the ground? Well it has. Do we know for sure that is what they have? No - but it IS what they have been diagnosed with. It can be mild and it can be lethal. Some things make it sound like that is what it is for sure and some things make it sound like it isn't. The head of the orphanage says that they are developing normally and they play normally and that all they have is this rash. EB causes VERY sensitive skin and it is unlikely that they could play normally with EB. But both have it and have since birth and EB is hereditary. They said it responded well to a cream sent from America once but when the cream ran out, the rash came back. EB doesn't respond to cream. So we don't know. We WILL go tomorrow and we will see. We are emotionally rung out before we even get started.

So, there you have it. Oh, no wait - there is more...after we left, Kostya said that he talked to another interpreter there with another American couple. They didn't take a referral the first appointment and were back for their second. They were not given a second appointment but were given an invitation to come back in 2006. Ouch.

So NOW there you have it. This may be our only chance. PLEASE PRAY FOR US. We need a whole lot of wisdom and discernment. Although I would love to have the heart to mother two children with a disease like this - I don't know if I have it in me. I just don't know. Not something I would sign up for in advance. On the other hand, maybe the diagnosis is wrong. On the other hand, maybe it isn't. I can tell you that I do not like being in this position. THIS HURTS BIG TIME.

Pray, pray, pray. Thank you Bradley and Chel for the help so far. We will update when we know what to update.

Tom and Lois

Leaving the familiar...

We are on our way downtown and away from computer access. We will try to get online somewhere - but don't know how or when. We will for sure update on Tuesday - even if we have to come back out here to do it! We are on our own now...SCARY!

a night and a day of sleep...

Well, we went to bed last night at 11 p.m. and got up today around 1 p.m. Nothing like 14 hours of sleep to clear the head! We went downtown and to a children's Ministry Expo and saw our Sasha friend - she was our interpreter when we lived here 11 years ago. We will see her again tomorrow - we saw her just briefly. We bought some coloring books for our new kids and then we went downtown to Kreshatik and OH MY how is has changed. We went to the underground mall and it felt like we were walking in to Watertower Place in Chicago. We went to a Hallmark store which is very tiny but still - HALLMARK in KIEV!?! Everything is so commercialized. All this beautiful, old architecture -COVERED in neon and advertisements. It just looks so different. Not bad - just different. And so many people in short, short skirts and tall, tall spiked heels. Can't imagine riding the Metro in them but they do. Everything seems to be moving very quickly - and that was from the second we got off the plane. As a matter of fact, our VIP service people were rushing us here and there and as a result, we didn't get a piece of paper back that we were supposed to (something to do with immigration). We have talked to them and they SAY it is nothing to worry about (we HAVE the customs thing - that is apparently the important thing). We shall see - but I WANT to just scream SLOW DOWN PEOPLE!!! But I won't. It seems to me that people STARE at us more this time around. Maybe I am just paranoid. And as much as I used to understand (or at least have a clue) I don't understand at ALL now. We are definitely strangers in a strange land. But - it is also so good to be back here. I love this country.

Heavy sigh. Tuesday will come so quickly. Please pray for us that is will go smoothly and that we will find our babies quickly. It will be SO emotional. It already is - who am I kidding!!

We went downtown to Vesuvio's for dinner - we are really adjusting to the cuisine quite quickly!

Tom and Lois

We're HERE!

And we are exhausted but we are trying to stay up a few more hours so that we are on their schedule. The flights were uneventful and extremely crowded and the planes were OLD. We sat in the middle two seats of the four seat row in the middle of the 747 and we were in the row that butts up against the back of the bathrooms - so we had ZERO leg room. I couldn't sleep. Tom didn't sleep much. We got to AMSTERDAM and had a little lunch (I think it was breakfast time). The airport, of course, was filled with shops that sold wooden shoes and fake tulips. And herring and eel. And Cows on Parade figurines (for those who don't know - that was an art exhibit that was done in Chicago and Kansas City, etc). It was funny to see trinkets from the US in Amsterdam.

We decided to go to our gate and it was forever away. Gate 57. Nothing was open so you had to sit on the floor and - I did. The exhaustion was kicking in big time. I fell asleep and Tom woke me to tell me there was a gate change. So we pick up all our stuff and shlepped down to Gate 49. It was open so we went in and had a seat...and fell asleep. About 30 minutes later, they announced a gate change...to Gate 57. We did the walk again and they finally opened the door there and we sat down and...we slept. I woke up and realized that there were very few people around us...because everyone had already BOARDED! We weren't the last, but there were only about 4 people behind us! We got on the very crowded flight and...fell asleep. About 20 minutes before landing, I decided I had to go to the bathroom...and it took about 15 minutes to walk the aisle and wait for the stewardesses to let us pass them as they were hocking their souvenirs. We got back, sat down, strapped in and landed. Everything went according to planned (although our VIP escort wasn't there the minute we got off the plane). Went through customs in about 10 minutes, got our luggage and found our facilitator and translator (Kostya and Vasya).

Kiev has grown SO much. Houses built close to the airport look like major subdivision houses (not normal for here). TONS of new buildings. It's cold but not frozen yet.

We got to Randy and Janis's house (Randy just left for Nepal) and Janis had dinner cooking that smelled delicious. We had baked potatoes, BBQed chicken wings and broccoli salad...sounds pretty American, huh! Now I am sitting here blithering...because what I want is...SLEEEEEEP!

We are here, we are safe and, after a long night of sleep, LET THE ADVENTURE BEGINS!!!!

And we're OFF!

We leave in approximately 14 hours. Am I packed yet? Noooooooo. Haven't even started. I have stuff all over the place and Tom and I keep saying, man, we should have had that done...but WE DON'T. Our hearts are ready...our home is...a mess. But we will have it almost there and good friends and family will get it the rest of the way there. And although I know the kids will be WAY over-stimulated when they first get here... (it will most likely be 2 or 3 weeks before Christmas) well, their parents are massive collectors of stuff. I don't know if we will change. Our house will always be full. It is genetic for me (the parents are antique dealers...) and Tom has learned much of it so - our kids don't have a chance. They, too, will be collectors of much stuff. I THOUGHT about trying to get less stuff. The thing is, you can get rid of and get rid of - but when you have 10 times more than the average thrift store...well, it takes a dumpster or two to make a difference! We DO have less dust-bunnies now. And we DID finish our new bedroom. Well, I suppose I should pack this computer up and then pack my...clothes! Next stop, Kiev, Ukraine!