Zenon & Monique's Ukrainian Adoption Journey

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

2008-08-20T13:23:00.008-05:00

We had orientation Monday and last night to get prepared for today, the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Yeah, Me!! The house is QUIET today. Everybody was very excited to go to school. No one had to be asked twice to get up---we'll see how getting up for school is two months from now! We said goodbye to Elyse after our annual "First Day of School Photos", as she got on the bus, then shortly loaded the rest up and off we went. I dropped everyone off with big smiles today. I can't wait to hear about their first day tonight.

The kids have been doing well--learning a little more English every day. They have been doing the Rosetta Stone online computer program for English as well as a local place where I take them once a week for tutoring, and then we are doing English lessons at home almost every day.

All six children get along and like each other. The boys have liked playing some video games with Alex--I believe they think they've moved from Ukraine to Video Game Heaven! Alina enjoys dressing up, coloring, listening to kids music in her room, singing, clunking around in dress-up shoes, and playing with Addie and Elyse.

Last week we went to a county fair, looked at a lot of animals, rode rides, and had ice cream.

Last weekend we enjoyed the day with some friends in Michigan at their home with a lovely cook-out. We spent the afternoon at Lake Michigan and the kids loved the BIG waves that were there. They also were all buried in the sand!

This weekend we went camping in Michigan. We have a camper that we took. We took our bicycles (8 bikes plus 2 pull-behind bikes--Yuri and Alina can't go very far for very long yet). Ruslan LOVES to ride his bike! He's crashed several times, gets a band aid, and takes off again on his bike. We enjoyed the beach at the camp ground, playground, and biking for ice cream.

I hope you enjoy the pictures!

One Week Update

2008-08-10T20:25:00.013-05:00

We have survived our first week of being home as a new family. We arrived home last Sunday in Chicago to friends and family at the airport. It was wonderful to have all of our children meet each other. We all loaded up into our Suburban and drove home to Valparaiso to a house full of friends and family who greeted us. We enjoyed visiting and introducing our children to everyone.

Our neice Lydia made this "Welcome Home" sign in Ukrainian for us that she brought to the airport.

On Monday we all woke up EARLY! We stayed home, unpacked, began laundry (which took me until Thursday to get through!) and began assimilating together. On Tuesday off we went to get five haircuts. Then, on to Claires where Alina got her ears pierced. She was exicted about her new earrings, and has enjoyed showing them off. We have also been working on the Kumon reading system, which we began in Ukraine before we brought the children home. They have been doing well with it. Ruslan has had English in school, and his reading skills are good. He doesn't always understand the content, but can sound out the words very well. Yuri and Alina are learning the alphablet, and are getting some basic phrases and words down. I took them into the Kumon learning center this week, and they all did very well, and were very excited to find out that we will be going back this week. Alina even asked Zenon if she could go back the same day! This week they will be beginning the Rosetta Stone English on-line program through school. This will be good because they will be able to work on the language at home.

We've enjoyed the beach with friends, picnics, a friend's pool, water-park, new bicycles, and video games! All in all, we've had a good week and haven't had any major problems. Here are some photos that we thought you might enjoy:

Waiting for us to arrive at the airport!
Our friend Florian (who is Ukrainian) welcomed our children with Ukrainian bread and salt atop a beautiful table runner which his mother had stitched.

Addie and Alina in their room!

Ruslan in his new room.

Yuri excited about his new bed!

Alina's haircut

Finished product~~happy smiles!

Ruslan wanted his hair cut like Alex's!

Yuri after his haircut

Alina getting her ears pierced.

WE ARE COMING HOME!!

2008-08-01T10:02:00.009-05:00

Ruslan, Yuri, and Alina in front of SDA today. We took them to meet the women in the office where we reviewed the files. The women were happy to meet them and enjoyed talking with them.

Zenon just called me as he walked out of the American Consulate here in Kiev and said he has the visas in hand!!!! This is a miracle---literally! The Consulate here was waiting for an email from the USCIS office in Chicago in order to process the papers. We were called at 9am this morning and told that the email had not come. We went for our interview this morning anyway in order to get the rest of the process completed. The frustration level was high today--after an elated phone call of joy accompanied by many tears last night.

Let me recap--I did not update yesterday due to phone calls and emails back and forth to America.

On Wednesday, we heard that the "approved age" was not in compliance with what was on our original application. We then began a series of phone calls, emails, skype calls, more emails, and lots and lots of tears. We began to work on finding out what needed to be done to change this. We were told by the USCIS office in Chicago that an addendum needed to be submitted to their office to change this and then they would let Kiev know so we could get our visas. This was prepared, and was taken to Chicago and hand delivered by my mother (who I believe broke all speed limits in order to do this) to the "officer" (at this point I use this term loosely) who requested the document. At that point my mother was only told that this document was not sufficient. Okay, let's begin by bumping up the stress level here to about a 9 on a scale of 1-10. So, now know that this isn't enough begins more emails and phone calls to figure out what to do.

A friend of mine initiated a phone call to her father who is a friend of our Congressman Pete Visclosky. He was willing to help us, but we needed to get him a form filled out with one of our signatures on it. I said, ok, let's get it done. But, of course, being a blond it didn't occur to me that I don't have a printer or fax machine here in this apartment--just our laptop. So, at 10pm here in Kiev (and 2pm in Indiana) my husband made a phone call to someone here to find a 24 hour internet cafe. Off he went, returning about 1:30am, successfully printing and faxing the document to Greg at the Congressman's office.

On Thursday, we received an email from the USCIS office stating that we needed to have a brand new home study done!!! You've got to be kidding me!?! That is virtually impossible, since we are in Kiev and home studies need to be done AT HOME by both parents. So, the stress level now rose to 25 on a scale of 1-10. At this point, we were completely mystified at the response we received from the USCIS.

The Congressman's office began a string of phone calls and investigation into the situation on our behalf. Thursday evening we received a phone call from him stating that the supervisor reviewed the file, and would sign off on it immediately, allowing the visas to be processed. This required her to send an email to Kiev with this information. So, we were so excited, crying tears of joy, and ready to come home with our children.

This morning began with THE phone call from the U.S. Consulate's office: no email! We felt like we were kicked in the stomach again. No email???? So, off to the appointment--and praying like crazy that the email would arrive by days end. We needed to wait until 4pm Kiev time (8am back in Chicago). At 4pm Zenon decided to go to the U.S. Consulate office and wait for the approval to be transmitted. On the way to the Consulate, Zenon phoned Greg and updated him about the situation. The Consulate office closes at 4:30 and they waited to close at 5 while he was there. At 5 minutes to 5pm, Zenon in TEARS, asked for them to call Greg at Congressman Visclosky's office. The consulate graciously complied and called Greg for a last minute bailout. Greg didn't understand why the email had not yet been processed by the USCIS Manager. Within moments of the conversation, the Consulate received a phone call followed by - you guessed it - THE E-MAIL!!!!!!!!

Zenon called me at 5:25 and said he just left the American Consulate's office with the VISA's in hand!!!!!!!

Our God is still on the throne when everything looks hopeless!

Closer

2008-07-30T16:19:00.002-05:00

Today has been a long and emotionally frustrating day. We thought that our request from the home study agency that was done yesterday would work, but we woke up to an email stating that we needed more documentation. Our friends in the United States all knew this before we did!! So, when our days started at 7am, it was only 3am at home. This meant that we stressed until 8am, until any offices were open. So, five hours later, we were able to begin "working" on this situation from here.

After numerous emails, phone calls, skype calls--I think we are getting closer to getting our visas for the kids. Please pray that the USCIS office in Chicago will find favor with our situation and be willing to push the documentation through. Originally we were told that our home study agency wouldn't be able to do anything until at least next Tuesday because the lady we originally met with was on vacation. AGH! So, prayer, phone calls, pleadings, a letter of request--may our God find favor on our children.

At the moment it is 12:20am, and Zenon left about an hour and a half ago looking for a 24 hour Internet cafe with a printer and fax machine. Our local Congressman's office will help us, but the need a signed faxed request on a specific form. We learned of this at 10:10 pm here. So, off he went. Please pray that our congressman's office will also be able to help us bring our children home.

Zenon made a comment today about them being orphans, during a conversation we were having, and then I looked at him, with tears in my eyes (okay, I'm crying again) and said, "They are not orphans--they are OUR CHILDREN!" It hit us both at that moment. Just because I can't bring them to the United States today, doesn't mean they are any less our children.

We have plane tickets for Saturday, and hope that this will be resolved by then. If not, we will have to figure out what to do next.

Please continue to pray for us!

Kiev-Visa Problems

2008-07-29T14:41:00.002-05:00

We did not take the train last night, it was full! So we left Ternopil at 5:30am this morning to take a mini bus to Kiev. The drive was about 5 1/2 hours. We slept for awhile this morning while driving. The sun was out and it was pleasant.

We arrived in Kiev and went to the American Consulate to make an appointment to submit our documents for visas for the children. We were informed that the children we have adopted do not meet the ages that were approved for by the USCIS office (office of immigration). She said that the visas would be approved only after an addendum was submitted by our home study agency to the USCIS office stating that we are approved by them to adopt children older than 8 years old. We had no way of knowing about this. It was hard, but I didn't burst into tears at the counter (even though I wanted to!). Then told Zenon and Valery. This began a series of phone calls to the US and within the US to see what can be done.

Once the addendum is faxed to the USCIS office, then it is a matter of time (days???weeks???) for them to notifiy the American Consulate in Kiev that this change is approved. Once that happens we can get their visas and go home.

Please pray for us while this is happening. There been lots of tears (by me) and prayer that this won't take very long. We would really like to use our plane tickets for Saturday!!

PS If you know of anyone who can help us, please let us know!

Last Day in Ternopil

2008-07-28T15:00:00.010-05:00

We have had a busy day here in Ternopil! We began by being woken up by the kids-- we definitely weren't ready to wake up yet. But, we began our day by visiting a family who is working on their apartment close to here. When you purchase an apartment in Ukraine, you get walls. Just walls. No heating, electrical, flooring, walls, doors, windows, NOTHING-- for an incredible amount of money! We visited for a while and then walked back to where we are staying to get ready to go out to the orphanage.

We arrived at the orphanage after picking up Tatiana and a couple of women from her office as well as several journalists. The final documents were filled out and then we signed the final paper!
Signing the Final Documents at the orphanage with Natalia

Talking with reports about the adoption process.

After the final signings, the reports wanted these photos taken.

Photo for the journalist

Picture with fairy tale figures carved out of trees at the park.

Zenon's Ukrainian fashion statement!

We enjoyed lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Everything was fine, until we heard a splash, and then Zenon pulled Alina out of the goldfish pond by her foot. I thought it was hilarious! We laughed, she was wet, but dried on the walk home.

We were unable to get train tickets to Kiev, all trains were sold out. So, we will be getting up at 4:15, getting in a van at 5am and going to Kiev. We need to get their medical exams done so that we can submit the documents for their visas to America. So, tomorrow will be long and tonight is short!

We're in Ternopil!

2008-07-27T09:48:00.012-05:00

We arrived in Ternopil this morning (Sunday) at 7:15am. We left Chicago on Friday after sitting in the airplane for over 2 1/2 hours waiting for the catering company to bring the food for the flight. Needless to say, our 8 1/2 in the plane ended up being over 11!! By the time we reached Frankfurt, Germany we had to go directly from our terminal to the next terminal and began boarding in the next 20 minutes. Unfortunatley, we missed having breakfast with my Aunt Brooks and Uncle Ed, who live in Germany. They were going to meet us at the airport and we didn't have enough time between flights.

We arrived in Kiev Sat. afternoon and were TIRED! We got to Valery's apartment and took an hour nap, then a long walk to keep awake. Valery treated us to a wonderful dinner he prepared. Then we took a second two hour nap and then were off to the train station. After we arrived in Ternopil, we slept for another three hours and now feel pretty "caught up".

We arrived at the orphange at around 1:30pm and met Natalya and the children. We were all so excited to see each other!!
All of us together!

We took the children, Valery, and Natalya and enjoyed lunch together.

The Last Walk Away
After lunch we decided to walk back to YWAM after purchasing three DVD movies for the kids. We got Tarzan2 in Russian, Meet the Robinsons in Ukranian, and the Water Horse in Ukrainian. We got movies that we don't have at home because they are originally in English and we can change the DVD to English for the rest of the family at home. During this walk they all asked at one time or another if they would ever have to go back to the orphange. We were glad to be able to tell them no. They will stay with us tonight--and get to wear their new pajamas! We will go back to the orphange tomorrow to sign some documents and pick up the things they want to bring home with them.

Before
Before

After - After taking showers and getting on their new clothes.
Showing off their new backpacks!

We're Leaving!!

2008-07-25T11:15:00.001-05:00

We are walking out the door to go to O'Hare to catch our plane to Frankfurt! Then, we have a 4 hour layover in Frankfurt-and on to Kiev! We will post when we arrive!!!

One More Week

2008-07-17T12:53:00.006-05:00

We received word this week that the international passports are done!! Yeah! So, we now have plane tickets--and Zenon and I will be leaving next Friday, July 25, to return to Ukraine to get our children.

This second trip will be one week. When we arrive in Kiev on Saturday, we will take the midnight train to Ternopil and arrive 7:30am. By this time, I know we will need showers! (The last ones being Friday morning before we leave) We will go and spend the day with them on Sunday and bring them with us for good this time. Never needing to take them back to the orphanage again!! Monday morning we will get our passports from the passport office and on Monday night, we will once again get on the night train back to Kiev. In Kiev we will need to get required medical exams for each of them and submit our documents for their travel visas. This will take a few days. Then, Saturday we will board the plane for London. Stay over in London then arrive home on Sunday, August 3rd.

This week we've been painting Alex's room in anticipation of his new brothers. He chose a navy blue for two walls, and the opposite walls are orange (his favorite color!). Then, there is a green strip around the top. He has bunk beds, and we are hoping to add a loft so there will be beds for the three boys. This week most of his things have been sitting in the hallway, so we are ready for this project to be done.

It looks like a trip to Ikea will happen sometime this weekend. I need a dresser in Addie's room for her and Alina. Addie has limited storage as it is, and we need to expand it for the girls. I think we'll also be getting Alex a bookcase for his room from Ikea as well.

I want to thank all of our friends who have graciously given us furniture, a mattress, clothes, backpacks, and food. We have been very blessed by our friends and family.

I would like to mention that "NO, we're not crazy!" This is in response to someone looked at me the other day and said "Are you crazy?" I admit, my defenses went up. I hadn't thought of myself as crazy in general. But, I've discovered it looks like it to some people. Zenon and I have both been asked this question (maybe not that bluntly) many, many times in the last few months. Life is different for all of us. Every person makes choices for themselves and their families. All of our choices will be different. We live in different families, have unique lives, and are not all called to do the same things. He might call you to do something that fits your family that doesn't fit our family. Zenon and I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that these children belong in OUR family. We LOVE them, and I can not wait to hold them next weekend and let them know that we will never leave them, and they will be loved unconditionally by us. They will now have a permanent family, and will never again be orphans. That is our promise to them.

Will it be easy to have six children? Of course not. "Easy" isn't what we considered when making this choice. We both know that there will be challenges, but also know that the Lord has called us to go and get the rest of our children from Ukraine. I can't wait to get off the airplane Aug. 3rd and have all of our children together!

THANK YOU again for all of your prayers, help, and encouragement. We truly have been blessed!

Home in Indiana

2008-07-10T20:37:00.004-05:00

We arrived home last week, and it took a good four days to catch up--with the time change. The first morning home Zenon and I were up at 3:30am! Each day it moved closer to "normal". I have thoroughly enjoyed being with Elyse, Alex, and Addie. We both missed them so much!!

Here's the update: As to today, all of our paperwork is submitted. What we are waiting for are the International Passports for Ruslan, Yuri, and Alina. These can take up to three weeks to get back. So, at the moment we are planning on returning to pick up the children the weekend of the 25th of July. Two and a half weeks from now! I have communicated with the orphanage director, and she mentioned that Alina asks every day-- when are they coming to get us? She tells them that the paperwork is not all completed yet. It is very strange to know that there are 3 children, living in a foreign country, that are LEGALLY OURS! The only reason they aren't with us, is that they need their passports in order to leave the country. That being said, we are all so anxious to have them here, "Home in Indiana".

I set up a time with Natalya to talk with the children. We were able to talk with them this morning-- we set our alarm for 6am and were talking by 6:05! It was 2pm in Ternopil and they were waiting by Natalya for our phone call. Alina talked first--which didn't surprise either of us. She is very outgoing and LOUD! She is just a very loud girl! She first thing she asked was if Addie was around and could she talk to her. So, we woke Addie up (and Adeline is NOT a morning person), told her her sister was on the phone, and she was out of bed in a flash! They each spoke their own language--and then Alina told Zenon--"tell Addie to talk Ukrainian because I can't understand her". To which Zenon replied that she couldn't, then she said to him "Ok, then I'll talk to you, you translate what I said to her, then she can tell you, and you translate for me" He looked at me and said "OK"-- as if he didn't already know that translation is necessary!

Ruslan and Yuri both asked about Alex. Elyse and Alex each were sleeping over at friends' last night--being summer, they enjoy sleepovers. So, tomorrow we will call Ukraine again, and all the kids will be able to talk to each other. On Monday the Ukrainian Horbs will be off to camp for two weeks. When they return, we HOPEFULLY will be traveling to Ukraine to get them. When the kids asked this morning why we haven't come back yet, I started crying--I wish it would be sooner.

I am working on re-doing Alex's room for the boys. A bunch of Alex's stuff is sitting in the hallway, and then we will begin by painting his room. I am hoping to get it done this next week. We're looking at adding a loft to the Boys' Room and getting dressers for both bedrooms. It's fun and crazy all at once. A bunch of Alex's stuff is sitting in the hallway, and then we will begin by painting his room. Addie has taken out some toys from her room and put them into the playroom. She's getting excited about having a sister to share her room with.

PRAYER REQUEST: Our first trip took two weeks longer than expected and on July 5th the plane fares went up by $500/ticket. We had been planning on taking our kids with us to meet their new siblings and all come home together. Please pray that we will be able to come up with the money to allow this to still happen. Elyse, Alex, and Addie have been looking forward to this trip, and we also view it as a major life experience. We want them to be able to see the country where their grandparents came from. This history/legacy is important to both Zenon and myself. We are hopeful that this trip will work out, but if not, please pray that we won't be too disappointed.

LAST DAY IN UKRAINE-TRIP #1

2008-06-30T03:31:00.010-05:00

Today is our last day in Ukraine. We are headed back home and have an overnight in the highly overpriced city of London. We were able to have breakfast with Karen and Maxim and take some last minute photos of downtown Kiev. The return trip is bittersweet-on the one hand it's a good feeling to be able to be going home to see our kids Elyse, Alex, and Addie. On the other hand it's disappointing that we are not coming home with Ruslan, Yuri and Alina.

We enjoyed breakfast at a cafe with Maxim and Karen.

We took a few pictures downtown Kiev this morning.
Karen & Monique

Zenon posing in his new flag!

I did however want to share with you (our faithful relatives, friends and fans) a little taste of Ukrainian culture/idiosyncrasies.

We thought we would give you a window into some of the daily living on our trip here to Ukraine. Lest any of you think that this was a "vacation".

We experienced some very good food here. But discovered that the price in the menu for food doesn't mean the total price for the entree, but the price per gram, they weigh food from restaurants! The other thing we noticed right away is that the food items are cooked one item at a time. This means the first person to get their food will most likely be done with their meal by the time the last person gets their food. We discovered at most restaurants that the food is not prepared to be served to all parties at the same time! So, when your meal came, you just began to eat or it would be cold by the time the last meal was served! Unfortunately, we have had fairly constant "nausea"--and think we've both lost at least ten to fifteen pounds! So, if any of you are interested in a sure-fire way to lose some weight--come to Ukraine!

We became very aware of needing to use the WC(toilet). We made sure we went before we ventured out. This was a quickly learned lesson because there was a fee to use the public restrooms (not that it was expensive)! We agreed that gas-station bathrooms ranked higher than these--UGH! Monique had never used the bathroom without a seat before!

An "electric bus"
We had the privilege of "living among the natives" by riding public transportation, renting apartments instead of hotels, etc... You quickly adapt to "the smell". Not that its a pleasant smell, more like I have to vomit smell. The worse news is that as time went along, I could tell that even my body started to produce this same type of "odor". When you ride public transportation during rush hour, personal space consists of the person next to you rubbing all over you. Forget about air flow, windows are not always open, so you are able to enjoy a warm stench. OK, enough about bad BO.

Personal Space and Waiting In Line. We in America have come to expect our "own personal space". This consists of approximately about 18 inches of air space between you and the next person. This isn't so here. When waiting in line for anything, we expect to go one at a time. When some people come into a location requiring a wait, they might look to see if a line exists, but many of them immediately walked right up to the head of the line (what we would call "cutting" or "line jumping")and began taking care of their own business. The next thing which was a little uncomfortable while being in line is that as one person is speaking across the desk/through the window, the next person in line is shoving to the desk/window as well --any many times begins to talk right over the person taking care of business. We decided that in order to "keep your place in line" you must practically hover right on top of the next person in order to keep your spot or someone might just cut you without a second glance!

Cabbage for sale At the markets, all kinds of foods are purchased. Cabbage is a staple here. We have never seen so much cabbage in our lives, let alone truckloads of it for sale.

We hope that you were able to get a feel of some of the culture here!

Judge Decrees us Parents!

2008-06-27T09:59:00.009-05:00

This morning at 11:30 we had our court case. Monique, Valery, Ruslan, Yuri, Alina, Natalia, and Tatiana were there. The judge asked us some questions about our family and if our desire to adopt these children. He also asked the same question that has been asked of us every step of the way "Why do you want to adopt three children when you already have three children?" We told him that we have thought about this for many years and prayed about it. We knew that our family was not complete and wanted to adopt children from Ukraine because of my heritage.
After more questions, he then asked us if we still desire to adopt these children and, of course, we said YES! He asked each of the children one by one if they wanted to be adopted by us, and they all said YES! He had some questions for Natalia as well as Tatiana. After checking documents, verifying information, the judge then read the decree naming each child individually and pronouncing us the proud parents of Ruslan, Yuri, and Alina HORB!!!

Then it was off to a celebratory lunch! After lunch we went to get their passport pictures taken. It didn't seem like a big deal, but when we went into the store to get the pictures made, the man began yelling at us! He told us that we didn't need as many pictures as asked for. We needed the photos for passports and paperwork at the US Embassy. We thought it made more sense to get all the photos at once. He did agree to take the pictures and was angry while he did it. What is wrong with these people?

The next steps in the process involve getting the court decree, birth certificates, and passports. Ten days from today, July 7th, all the court documents will be ready to be picked up. Our attorney Valery will begin the next steps of the process for us. After the passports are applied for it can take up to three weeks for them to be done. We have decided to come home on Monday and then we will come back to pick up the children when the passports are done. This means we will be home anywhere from three to four weeks. Then we will return to Ukraine and bring our children home!

Our biggest frustration today was trying to get a notary to sign a power of attorney for our facilitator. We went to several offices today and were told the following reasons why our papers could NOT be notarized: 1. Done working for the day (it was 3:30pm and the office was open until 5:30pm) 2. Come back tomorrow at 10am (didn't say if she would do it, just come back) 3. I've never seen that document done before, so it's Impossible! I've never seen it so it can't be done!(Our attorney had examples of the needed document, and said yes it can be done. He's done it several times before.) 4. Your American Passport will not work for identification (Are you Kidding Me?!?!?) 5. You need an Ukrainian identification card (I am an American Citizen-and don't even live here). 6. Have your power of attorney done and apostilled in America-then send it to us. 7. Why do you need Power of Attorney? Adopted kids in Ukraine don't need passports--I've done this for 30 years. (WHAT??? In the Free World, Everyone Needs a Passport to Travel!! --except I suppose if you are coming in small boats from Cuba or sneaking in to America from Mexico.)

We arrived back at YWAM and Monique called one of the missionaries here. He called back to say that he found someone who will be able to do our notary papers in the morning. YEAH!

After the court hearing, we all went out for a celebratory lunch!

Alina and Monique

Alex & Addie at Spring Hill Camps

2008-06-24T03:11:00.007-05:00

Addie and Alex went to camp this week. Here are a few photos of them at camp. I hope that you are having a GREAT time!! We miss you!

Addie with her counselors.

Addie with Destiny Carlisle (in front of her) and her cabin mates.

Alex with Evan Duey (to the left of Alex) and cabin mates.

Alex doing his impression of the Incredible Hulk!

Court Date?

2008-06-23T15:36:00.003-05:00

Today we went to the courthouse to meet with the judge who is assigned to our case. We were told on Friday that we could get our court date scheduled with him today. We decided that we would walk to the courthouse. It was nice and sunny. About 2pm when we were getting ready to leave, dark clouds rolled in and it began to hail, and pour! So, we tried to call a taxi, and were unable to get one, due to them being busy. Zenon called Natalia, and she and her driver said they would come pick us up. Zenon saw the white van and told me to go get in it while he grabbed his backpack. So, off I went, jumped into the van and the man began talking to me and I just sat there smiling. Zenon came to the van, said something to the driver and realized that I had jumped into the wrong van! Out I went, and we laughed so hard we sat on the porch crying.

We finally arrived at the courthouse to wait, yes, wait. We waited only to discover that our case had NOT been taken up to the judges office, they had not received our papers. Zenon and Natalia tracked them down, and then they were taken up to the office. Now we must wait until tomorrow and hopefully he will have read our case and be willing to schedule the court date for Thursday or Friday. Natalia will call in the morning and we are hoping that we can go tomorrow and get what we need. We cannot come home until we go in front of the judge.

We walked downtown and got something to eat at an outdoor cafe. Suddenly, yes, suddenly, the skies darkened again and a very scary thunderstorm began. We continued to eat and watch it rain like cray. The scariest part was when about 1/2 block away at the park, which I could see, and lighting bolt came down and I screamed, Zenon grabbed me, and the light from the lightening bolt was so bright! We waited until the rain slowed a bit then called a taxi to take us back. Then we just relaxed this evening.

Weekend Fun

2008-06-23T15:06:00.008-05:00

This weekend we were able to spend time with the kids. On Saturday we took them to a city park which overlooks a large lake. They enjoyed playing at the playground and eating ice cream. We walked through the downtown area and enjoyed the sunshine.

Fun at the park!

Downtown Ternopil

We discovered the only Chinese restaurant in Ternopol and had dinner here Saturday night. The food was good!

Sunday afternoon we brought Ruslan, Yuri, and Alina back to where we are staying. They watched the Russian version of Chronicles of Narnia and Zenon made dinner for all of us. It was nice to "hang out" without trying to find an activity. We enjoyed being together and talked about what it is like at home in Indiana.

Ternopil, Ukraine

2008-06-21T04:43:00.004-05:00

Ternopil is a region in western Ukraine. This city has western European feel to it. I've added a link to the right which has some great photographs of the city we are in. Enjoy!

Good Day!

2008-06-20T14:54:00.010-05:00

Today we left the apartment we have been staying at to move to the local YWAM training facility. This facility is brand new and have been gracious enough to allow us to stay here until we leave Terinopol. It is also nice because it is very clean, has laundry facilities, and wireless internet! Here is a view looking up to the balcony on the 3rd floor of our previous domain.

This morning we were able to meet with the head judge of this region. We submitted the paperwork for our adoption, and requested a court date next week. He immediately said that he has many pressing matters to attend to, and would not be able to give us a date until sometime in July. Valery continued to ask him if we would consider sooner, then I began to speak to him in Ukrainian. He soon began to warm up after hearing about my Ukrainian roots (and then wanted to know what kind of plant I was), and proceeded to fit us into the courts' schedule next Thursday or Friday. We will be able to confirm this on Monday.

Today our documents were submitted to the SDA in Kiev (YEAH!), and will be returned to Valery on Wednesday afternoon. Please pray that this happens. What this means is that we should be able to come home next weekend.

The fun part of the day began when we picked up Ruslan, Yuri, and Alena and took them bowling for the first time. After that, we went out to the Flamingo Restaurant and had a pizza dinner. I enjoyed teaching them how to bowl, and we all had a very good time.

Enjoy these bowling photos:
Alena with her bowling ball!

Yuri is excited about his score!

Checking out the bowling balls.

Yuri's sprained ankle doesn't keep him from bowling!

Elyse and Emma having fun at camp! How cool is technology? We found this picture of Elyse off the internet on Spring Hill Camps website out of Indiana!

Day 13

2008-06-19T13:43:00.004-05:00

We began today by walking, walking, and walking! This has become a favorite pastime of ours. We, actually Valery, were able to get necessary docuements notarized today, then off to the governmental building. We arrived around 3:15pm and left five minutes before 7pm with the documents stamped!! Tomorrow we will go to the courthouse and attempt to get in front of a judge regarding this case. Please continue to pray that this process continues without many more glitches. Our documents will be traveling by train to Kiev tonight, and submitted in the morning. Then, they have up to five days to return them--prayer that it won't take the whole five days.

We are looking forward to this weekend!!

Day 12

2008-06-18T12:10:00.002-05:00

We were able to take Ruslan, Yuri, and Alina to lunch today and spend a couple of hours with them. It has been fun starting to teach them some english words and phrases. They are catching on quickly, and even begin some phrases in english on their own. We are hoping to take them bowling in the next few days. They have never done that before.

Please pray that the documents will be signed soon, and that Valery will have safe travel back to Kiev to submit them.

Day 11

2008-06-17T13:52:00.002-05:00

Today was filled with paperwork by our Facilitator, Valery. After many hours working on documents, we tried to meet with a judge today to make an appointment and were unable to do so. The man in charge of the administration here looked at our documents today, but wants to look at them a bit longer. Please pray that he signs them tomorrow and that the documents can then go to Kiev.

We were able to spend about an hour and a half with the children at the orphanage today. We did some vocabulary works with the books that we had gotten them. We look forward to spending more time with them tomorrow.

We ask for your prayers for the documents.

2008-06-17T03:24:00.007-05:00

An abandoned church in the Ukrainian countryside

It is Tuesday morning, and we were able to find an internet location to use. We had been going to a restaurant that has internet access, and last night one of the stores in the mall had a fire, so the wi-fi was not working. Also, the wireless card on our computer is now ka-put! We are going to try to get another one at a local computer/electronics store.

Yesterday was a holiday, so all businesses were closed. We were invited by the Inspector, Tatiana, here in Terinopol, to her home in the country yesterday with the children. We took the van, picked her and her children up, and drove about 30 minutes to their weekend home. It was a nice respite from the city! The children all played in the yard, took walks, and enjoyed the day. We ate more food yesterday than we had any day since we've been here.

The feast set before us!

Tatiana's husband Pavlow enjoys fishing. He provided the fish that we had for lunch yesterday. Some of the meal she cooked at home, and some of the fish he put into a smoker that was on the fire in the back yard.

Natalya, Tatiana, Monique, & Pavlow showing off his catch.

Group Picture of our Friends

Ruslan, Yuri, and Alina enjoyed the day playing with Tatiana's children. They have a daughter who is 12 and a son who is 9. They were able to do some exploring up by the abandoned church (posted above). They picked strawberries and gooseberries out of the garden, played chase, and laughed a lot. Because we were with Natalya we were able to keep the children longer than usual. They were very tired and happy after an enjoyable day. Alina shed some tears about going back to the orphanage. We assured her that we would be back tomorrow, and gave her big hugs and kisses.

Today we will be meeting the judge to set up our court date which we will have after Valery submits our documents in Kiev. Valery will travel to Kiev tonight to begin the process. This can take up to five working days. Please pray that it doesn't take the five days in Kiev, and that the paperwork is processed quickly.

Kool Karen Kissing Kow

2008-06-13T15:05:00.004-05:00

This is a tribute to our "kool kiev karen" who has helped us tremendously! She has been our point of contact at CBN for over two years! THANK YOU KAREN, NOW LEARN TO SPEAK UKRAINIAN! She speaks Russian and is dating a good Ukrainian man. See you in Kiev soon!

Day 7 - Ukranian Pizza Day

2008-06-13T13:27:00.008-05:00

We woke up a little late today. Once we got ready for the day, it seemed appropriate for us to spend some time in prayer. GOD HAS BEEN GOOD! Although we face many challenges ahead, we know for sure, the God has our backs. That's actually better than a large Ukrainian-American behind you. We started the day at the notary to have some official documents notarized. I have quickly noticed the biggest difference between Zenon Uki's and Ukrainian Ukis - their ability to WAIT. Not one of my strengths, especially when dealing with layers of bureaucracy. However, a side note, once they hear me speaking in Ukrainian, they seem to become more jovial and are very interested in how I speak their language.

This is where I explain to them the tortuous Ukrainian school I had to attend every Saturday until I was 17 years old. Yes, I missed Saturday morning cartoons, unless I faked being sick to stay home. I do have to admit - Tato and Mama I am grateful that you were persistent in teaching us our heritage and language!

Ruslan, Yuri and Alina are wonderful! We have been so blessed - first with three awesome children in Elyse, Alex and Addie and now in extending our family. Todaya we gave them the books on learning English, and they were excited to look at them. They are like picture dictionaries/basic grammar. Today we took our three new children out for pizza. The pizza was actually very good. We then headed over to a Uki ice cream parlor (that's what they claim it is) that had a small play area for the kids. It rained pretty hard today, which limited our outdoor activity. As we headed back to the orphanage, my heart was touched by Alina's little voice "Chomy mu ne mozhe mo stobuyu pitu?" Translation "Why can't we come with you today?" There aren't many times when a large Ukrainian man has to hold in his tears. By the way, my wife is curious to why all the Ukrainian men are so skinny and she married a Uki guy that is larger than most NFL linebackers.

We were walking today, and saw a beekeeper! I just had to post this photo, since my father in law is a "hobby beekeeper" in Michigan.

We also found the only WiFi restaurant in Ternopol - looks like an Olde English Pub in a new shopping mall. We will update tomorrow.

Day 6

2008-06-13T13:05:00.005-05:00

Our facilitator, Valery, went to the government office to begin the paperwork. The office here hasn't done international adoptions for many years, and the women in the office needed to get the forms. Valery was able to give them examples of forms needed.

We met Valery in the afternoon with the attorney for the office here. She needed to observe us with the children, and then her boss came about an hour later to follow up on the process. They were both very nice, and had nice things to say. Incidentally, both of their names are Tatiana. The head boss said she was surprised at how much they look like us! She was pleased with the contact that was made, and said she would begin the paperwork process on Friday.

We thought we would be able to come earlier, but were unable to because we needed to wait for the government officials. About 3:15 we pulled up, and Alina was all dressed up in a pretty dress, socks, and shoes. As we pulled up by the building, she was jumping up and down clapping her hands! Ruslon also had a dress shirt and pants on. Yuri came running out of the orphanage and up to us, very excited. We spent a few hours with them. They enjoyed taking pictures with our camera, eating sunflower seeds, and climbing on us. We were told that we would be able to take them out for pizza and ice cream on Friday. They became very excited!

After we left the Tatianas took us to a bookstore. We purchased children's books written in Ukrainian that teaches them English. We got several levels of books for them and will give them to them on Friday.

Here are two photos of where we are are staying:

All in all, a good, long and tiring day!

Day 5 - Meet the New Horbs

2008-06-11T13:17:00.011-05:00

Terinopol Train Station

This morning we arrived in at the Terinopol train station at 7:15am. After sleeping – or at least trying to – since the train rocked all night – we pulled into the train station to sunny and blue skies. Our driver met us and we (Valery – our attorney, Karen – our facilitator, Maxim – her friend, and our driver, Oleh) walked around until we found some breakfast. It was a little difficult to find breakfast; it’s not common to go out for breakfast here. You can buy hats and purses at 7:30am, but there was no coffee to be found. Finally, at the Terinopol hotel, we found a breakfast buffet. After eating, we went to the apartment and got cleaned up. We then went to the Inspectors office, and he was not in. So, we went to a grassy area overlooking a lake. I took a much needed nap and Zenon went exploring. Pretty soon, Valery got the phone call that we could meet the Inspector. We went to a different office, and were able to meet with the lady directly under the Inspector, her name was Maria. She was very helpful, and immediately arranged for us to go to the orphanage and meet the children.

We drove about 15 minutes to a small private orphanage run by the Greek Catholic Church. We met the Director, Natalya, and soon the children. They hadn’t been told that we were coming, and were not aware of the situation. They showed us their rooms, where they ate, where they played, and were completely taken with our cameras. They began to take photos of us and each other. Soon the director first spoke with the oldest, Ruslan, and explained why we were there. He seemed cautious at first at which time we showed him the small photo albums that we brought of the house and our kids. Also at this time, the director took the younger two children aside and began to explain to them what was happening. We showed them the pictures also, and Alena wanted to know if she could play with the toys in the girl’s bedroom. Ruslan asked if he could run with Mazie. Yuri was all smiles with a lot of questions. We told them that we would come back tomorrow, and Alena told us that she is done with school at 1pm and told us to “please come quickly”.

Here are some photos:

Ruslan, Alena, Yuri

Zenon & Ruslan

Zenon & Yuri

Alena wanted a picture taken with her new house!

Alena & Yuri looking at a picture of Elyse, Alex, & Addie

By the way, it took me 20 minutes to upload these pictures! We were only able to use the dial-up at our "taxi" drivers apartment. Tomorrow we will need to find a Wi-Fi connection somewhere!

Day 4 - Zenon's Thoughts

2008-06-10T08:22:00.002-05:00

We are resting and packing and anxiously awaiting our midnight run to Ternopil. As I ponder the new additions to our family, I can't help to think what if its true, and we are crazy? The problem is, that when I say that, there is a resounding "yes" heard across the globe(to those of you that know me). I have been reminded over the last few months at how weak my faith can be. But I have also been strengthened in my faith through the body of believers that so embraces us and encourages us.

As to our wonderful three at home: Elyse, Alex, and Addie. You need to know that we love you very much. As a matter of fact, because of your personal faiths in Christ we have been encouraged and know how awsome you will be with your new brothers and sister. We will hopefully be able to post pictures soon.

Day 4

2008-06-10T07:25:00.003-05:00

The weather here has been great-- high 70s to low 80s without the humidity! We haven't had a need for long sleeves here. Today we slept in, and rested. We've been on the go since we left the house on Friday! We will pack up, and get on a midnight train tonight. I haven't traveled by a "sleeping train" before. I am getting ready to take a nap this afternoon, I don't know how much sleep I will get on the train tonight. Another new adventure for us!

THANK YOU--to all of our friends and family who continue to encourage us, while we are here in Ukraine. We have received such wonderful emails and text messages to our phone. It's been great to have the outpouring of love and prayers felt by us. We were even prayed for by a small chapel service here at CBN in Russian! It is amazing that Ukrainian people who we have met here are so incredibly supportive and encouraging to us. We have felt much kindness here.

NOTICE: We love all the blog comments--if you do not have a blogger address, can you please sign your comment before you publish it, we won't know who you are otherwise--THANKS. And, if you don't want to publish, you can email us. As I check our emails, I'm able to respond.

Day 3 SDA Appointment Day

2008-06-09T15:42:00.013-05:00

Today was our appointment at the State Department of Adoption. What an adventurous day; our first appointment was for 9:00 AM, but didn't know it. No problem, after our facilitator spoke with the SDA, we got the appointment rescheduled for 12:00 PM. This became our second dilemma of the day; the great Zenon forgot the passports. The appointment was then again rescheduled for 4:00 PM. If anything went awry at this appointment, big problems, like no appointment at all.

After retrieving our passports and a light Italian lunch, we headed back to the SDA. We anxiously awaited for our appointment. The fear of the unknown is probably one of the hardest things to cope with. Our time finally arrived and we nervously went into the SDA's conference room to begin the process. (footnote: the ladies at the SDA were very gracious and helpful throughout our "double day"--Monique called it that because we traveled there twice)

Zenon & Monique in front of the SDA

They conducted a brief interview and then began showing us the children's "files". These consisted of a picture of the child and a summary of pertinent information in regards to each child or children. As we looked though the various files that were given to us, one of the SDA workers asked how many children we were officially approved to adopt. We kindly let them know that we had been praying about two children, but that we had applied for up to three children. In typical Ukrainian fashion, the ladies retorted "well look at this file, it has two beautiful boys and two beautiful girls. Never mind the quantity, we can get you approved for four."

Deep breath - at this point I began taking my queues from Monique. A quickly panicked face let me know to press on. We continued to seem to come back to one particular file. We were then shown a number of files with children that had various special and medical needs. The question kept going on in my mind - how will we know who the right children should be. My heart pains for the many siblings that we felt we had to pass on. Eventually, after continuing to come back to a particular file, we had made our decision.

We would like to announce the newest members of the Horb Family: Pyclan (Ruslan), Yupiu (Yuri), and Alina. We will be traveling to Ternopil(near Lviv). Ternopil can be found by looking directly west of Kiev and slightly south. We we be traveling train Tuesday evening. We will leave on a 11:56pm train, for a seven hour ride. These trains are called sleeping trains. It's interesting to me how travel is done here, since most people don't have cars--they uses public transportation. When we went to the train station tonight (at around 10:30) to get the tickets for tomorrows trip, the train station was bustling with lots and lots of people travel and getting tickets.

Once we arrive in Ternopil on Wednesday morning we will with Valery to the Inspectors office to get permission to go to the orphanage to meet the children and continue the paperwork process. Please continue to pray as we venture out to the beautiful Ukrainian western oblast of Ternopil.

Day 1 & 2

2008-06-08T13:34:00.006-05:00

We arrived in Kiev around 3:00 local Kiev time. After two plane rides, we finally landed. We slept some on the first fight over the big pond, then we landed in London. We had a two hour layover, then had a three hour flight to Kiev. After we arrived, we had dinner, unpacked then crashed for about 10 hours to catch up on much needed sleep. (I had began my day on Friday at 4:45am, since I couldn't sleep and finished getting stuff done before we left.)

Zenon and Monique in front of Kiev Borispol Airport!

Today, we went to an English speaking church and had lunch downtown. We walked, walked, and walked all day today. We enjoyed the sight-seeing. We climbed 209 steps up the bell tower at St. Sophia's church. The views of the city from the top were great. The city seems to go on and on from every direction. We enjoyed some ice-cream at Freedom Square and did a little shopping at a shopping center.

In front of St. Sophia's Church

Monique and Karen in St. Sophia's bell tower

Tomorrow we will have our appointment at the State Department of Adoption, commonly known as the SDA. So, for now we are relaxing while watching a movie, eating yummy fresh strawberries, and having tea.

DEPARTURE

2008-06-06T12:42:00.002-05:00

The day has finally arrived! We will be departing from O'hare this evening. It seems that as you wait and anticipate the day to come, time stands still. Once the day is upon you, then you say I haven't had enough time to prepare. We are grateful for all the support and prayers from our family and friends.

We will be updating the blog from Ukraine with words and pictures. I leave you with this

His Time--Our Time

2008-06-01T22:14:00.005-05:00

It's Sunday evening, and I'm reflecting over the last couple of years, at how this journey has transpired. We didn't think that when we began this process three years ago, that it would take this long. I've been able to see, looking back at the past couple of years, that it was not His time to add to our family. I've been able to see more clearly God's hand in our lives. He has the big picture, and we are part of his amazing plan. He has found favor on us, and now His Time... is Our Time to Go.

A friend of mine gave these verse to me out of I Peter 5:6-7 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you." My God has a mighty hand, and he can take on all my anxiety--he is Big Enough to take on all my fears this week and the weeks to come.

I know that he has called us to open our hearts to love children who so desperately need a family. My heart has been open, and broken as I pray for our children, as I know that it won't be easy, and as we prepare this last week for our Journey to Ukraine--Our Journey for Our Children. "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:18. I think about how Our God will continue to go before us. He continues to reach his hand down, to ask me to follow him, to show me the way to go.

This journey to complete our family has not been easy, nor will living our lives ever be easy. I know that there is joy in the journey, and for that I will forever be grateful. I met with The Girls this last week, and they had a sweet time of prayer for me and our family. (A group of six of us has met together over the last several years and are affectionately called The Girls.) I am so thankful that I have friends who are supporting and encouraging us as we take this final step in our Ukraizy Adventure.

Prayer: Please pray as I get the kids organized for when we are gone.
For Elyse, Alex, and Addie--we've not been away from them this long before, that they won't be "homesick" for us.
For final packing preparations.
God's provision of our financial needs, that we will be anxious.

Thank You: To our friends who have so graciously provided suitcases, humanitarian aid (which we will want to bring more on the second trip!), meals, prayers, and encouragement.

6 More Days!

2008-05-30T11:42:00.002-05:00

We will be leaving for Ukraine one week from today. Wow, it doesn't seem possible that the time is upon us! I am just about done with "the LIST"!! Just the kitchen cabinets to spring clean, and then some flowers to plant out side. Today I am going to run some random errands and finish up what I've wanted to get done here at home. We have some birthday parties this weekend, and beginning on Monday, I will start filling suitcases!! Usually on vacations we do forget something, and I've always said as we pull out of the driveway, "There's always a WalMart". But, in this case, I don't think I'll be able to say that! So, I've got a pretty extensive packing list that I'll begin on Monday. I'm getting more and more excited to meet our children---I can't wait to see who God puts into our family.

I'm looking forward to experiencing Ukraine. We would like to be able to do as much sight seeing as possible. On the days that we are waiting, we would like to explore as much as possible. We are looking forward to embracing this experience.

We are so thankful for the prayers and financial support. Thank you so much to all of you who are participating with us. We have seen God's hand as we prepare to go.
I would ask for prayer that I don't get all freaked out next week with the last minute preparation.

Enjoy your weekend!

Alex's 11th Birthday

2008-05-30T11:40:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the last day of school! We had Alex's belated birthday party with a combined Last Day of School party. Lots of Fun!! Here is a picture of the students in his 5th grade class from this year.

National Junior Honor Society

2008-05-19T21:24:00.002-05:00

We are very excited! Elyse was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society last week. We are very proud of her, and wanted to share that with you.

Ukranian Trip Garage Sale

2008-05-19T16:30:00.005-05:00

PRAISE THE LORD!! The Garage sale was beyond what I had imagined. We were able to bring in enough money for two plane tickets!! My heart is so overwhelmed at the amount of donations that came to my house. I have some really great friends who donated, made signs, helped price and organize, and fed us. Also, a big thank you to my mom who helped me at the sale both days. The rainy weather that was foredcast didn't come and the Lord heard our prayers for good weather. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for this weekend-- the skies were clear, the sun was shining, and the temperature was in the 70s. The weather was just perfect! We had people standing at the garage door looking in while we took all the items out to display them. I advertised for 7am on Fri. morning, and people came consistently from 6:30am-4:30pm and the Saturday began the same steady stream of people coming.

I displayed a BIG sign "Ukrainian Adoption Fundraiser" on the driveway. I was able to have a dozen or so conversations with people who have adopted internationally, from Ukraine, Russia, Korea, and China. The encouragement we received from people was great. With the unknown looming over us and only 17 days left, it was nice to be encouraged. Needless to say, both Sat. and Sun. were exhausting and I literally crashed those nights.

We still have some financial needs, so I continue to ask for prayers that all we need will be provided for in the next few weeks.

Thank You to my friends who helped here and to all of you who have prayed for us. We have truly been blessed by all of you.

Monique

Tickets

2008-05-01T16:37:00.003-05:00

Today I purchased tickets for Zenon and myself. We will be flying from Chicago on June 6 to London. After a two hour lay-over in London, we will be off to Kiev, arriving around 3 in the afternoon on Saturday. I hope that we don't have any travel issues, so we will be able to get some sleep and spend Sunday doing a little sight-seeing in Kiev.

I have made some small progress on the LIST this week. My "big thing" is getting the spring cleaning/de-cluttering done in the next two weeks before the garage sale. The play room is just about done. I got the chalkboard painted on the wall, and we have the trim to frame the space. This should help to keep the chalk on the chalkboard space and not on the walls.

Thanks to Erin, I've added "weekly blog update" to the LIST.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

the LIST
people to come to the Ukraine Trip Garage Sale---and spend moneyto not be stressed

Thank you for your prayers.

Less than six weeks!

2008-04-29T05:33:00.006-05:00

I looked at the calendar this weekend and realized, less than six weeks! It's coming up quicker than I thought. After a couple of years of talking about an adoption, it's hard to believe that it is really getting closer. Once we change the calendar to May, (which will be in two days) I think then I will really start to get excited! At the same time, I have a list of things that I would like to get done, and am wondering how in the world will we get all ready? So, I am going to begin my LIST. I love lists--- because you can cross things off and see progress--. I think my list will go something like this: check on immunizations, packing list, kid list, room by room list, etc...

I've wanted to do a major de-clutter, spring cleaning type of thing for, about two years now. As some of you know, events usually bring upon old projects to get finished, "I've always wanted to...", and then new projects develop on top of the unfinished ones. So, that being said, our neighborhood has a garage sale each spring and I have yet to participate. I have only ever had one, about 12 years ago. But, this is the year! It will be in two weekends, so that gives me two weeks to do the de-clutter that I've been wanting to do for two years. I've got stuff piled in my garage. I can't even park in there anymore. I told Zenon yesterday that I will be glad to park inside it again. Then, I have this bright idea to turn it into my Ukranian Trip Garage Sale. So, I've invited friends who want to donate to it to bring their treasures over and add to our sale. So, if you would like to pray for us--pray for our Ukranian Trip Garage Sale.

Some people have asked, where will you put who you are adopting? Translation: where will they sleep? Alex and Addie have bunk beds in their rooms, and have been waiting to share them. We had a guest room which has been used infrequently--due to family members living close by. So, we decided to turn the guest room into a play room. This would take toys out of the bedrooms and allow us room to but in dressers. (Add dressers to my LIST) So, after we emptied the room I decided to paint it. Yes, off I went to the hardware store looking for a blue or green. I found a "mistake" gallon of paint-just the blue I liked and came home and began painting. We finished it that night. I think I might add the playroom to my LIST, just so I can check it off!! So, we officially have a new playroom and the kids love it.

I decided to work outside this last weekend in the yard. Putting on fertilizer, pulling weeds, realizing how much work it really does need. The weather was not too hot, just about perfect for being outside. Then, last night--I looked outside, it was snowing! There is still some snow on the ground this morning--and it's supposed to be in the 70s on Thursday.

If there is something that I need to add to my LIST, just let me know!

FROM THE BEGINNING.....

2008-04-16T18:58:00.011-05:00

Some people have asked us "Why are you adopting?" Zenon's answer would go something like this: We are so blessed as a family to live in the United States, and have been blessed with the ability to share--- he might ask this question back "why wouldn't we?"

Zenon and I have talked about an adoption from the Ukraine for over three years. He has wanted to adopt ever since our oldest daughter was born. We began to seriously talk about the possibility in April of 2005. At that time, I began the process of surfing the web, reading everything I could get my hands on, and researching what it would take in order to pursue and adoption. I spent hours and hours looking at the requirements, discovering how to proceed, and then we began the paper trail required to adopt. As the end of 2005 approached, we finally had all of our documents ready to mail to Kiev, Ukraine. So, we did. Then, to our disappointment the country "shut down" in December. This means that they would not be taking any new dossiers, or applications. The country went through a organizational process that took most of 2006. All the paperwork that we completed was individually dated and would expire twelve months from the date it was notarized. SO, the original documents were all outdated. The Ukrainian government then opened back up for documents to be accepted in Feb. of 2007.

Back to the drawing board. ALL of our paperwork had to be re-done, all the fees we had paid had to be paid again, and then worked at getting it all ready to resubmit. We mailed our documents to Ukraine and were put on a list to submit them. Our number was to come up in October, and lo and behold, the National Adoption Center office closed AGAIN! So, we knew that once again we would need to wait and then redo some documents, but didn't know how many. We soon discovered that they all didn't need to be redone, and have been pleased with that. We mailed our new "current" application to Kiev (this makes 3 times!) praying that this time we would be able to get our dossier submitted. We were put on a new list, and on Feb. 18, 2008 our dossier was officially accepted! That in itself was a huge milestone for us. I was beginning to wonder if we ever would be able to adopt. Looking, we can see that God was definitely in control of the timing of this process.

The 6-8 weeks of waiting for an Appointment Date began. On March 20, 2008 we received an email from Karen, our contact in Kiev, that we have an official appointment date: Monday, June 9, 2008!!

Phase II

Wow, our very real date!!! This then began the mega search for plane tickets to travel. We were told about a travel agency that works with people who are traveling for humanitarian aid, mission work, and adoptions. This was great because they will handle any travel date changes without adding any date change fees or travel fees to the original ticket price. On top of that, the tickets we were able to get were lower than anything I could find on 18+ web searches that I had done. We decided to travel on Friday and give ourselves a day to rest when we arrive in Ukraine before on Monday appointment. From what we understand the trip will last approximately 14 days or so. Then there is a 10 day waiting period in which we will come home, then we will travel back to Ukraine for a second trip lasting approximately 6-10 days. On the second trip we are planning on bringing home the children that we are hoping to adopt.