Goodbye Lezevoyeh

Today was so rich and full!  I am so utterly exhausted that I cannot begin to describe it.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I suppose these 10,000 words will do for tonight!!  :o) 

Cool new clothes!

At lunch after passport and visa photos.  Two good-looking dudes!



Back at the orphanage for the final "sign-out" which blessedly lasted well over an hour, maybe two before they needed our signatures!  The day was lovely and the kids played freely and took photos of their friends.  Vitalik got to play a bit of futbol with many droogs in his cool new shoes, which he simply could not have been more thrilled with by the way! :o)

Each of the kids were given a few photos and certificates that had been saved for them in the office.  Very special!

I have not counted, but there must be at least 20 photos like this from various points in the day that Lera got the camera!

Vitalik took this picture and was very impressed with how it turned out. ("Very good photo!")    I'm pretty sure it's because it has a car in it! The boy does seem to have a passion for motor vehicles of all types!



Their last moments at Lezevoyeh Boarding School, where they have been since about age 7.



We piled six people into that little car I was standing in front of, which is not so unusual in a culture in which most people don't own a car.  All 4 of us were in the back seat and our driver joked that we still had room for 2 more Eugenes!



Vitalik and Lera walked with Eugene to a very small market near our apartemnt and used their own money to buy something they love which is similar to ramen noodles, except better.  Later in the day, Vitalik used google translator to ask if he could prepare the noodles for our dinner tonight. (Da, con etchno! ... Yes, of course!)  We worked together in the kitchen (I was the assistant)... He closed the door so that Eugene would be surprised.  We set this beautiful table with noodles, bread/butter, water, and a few bits of meat and cheese.  He could not have been more happy!  After we all finished, he quickly got up and washed and put away all of the dishes while Eugene, Lera, and I sat and visited.   When he finished, Eugene led Lera and me in a chant of "Spu-see-buh... Spu-see-buh..."  (thank you) which is what the kids at the orphanage did at the end of yesterdays party.  It was awesome!   

The new computer for our 5 kids to share for educaitonal things.  We pulled it out after dinner and introduced them to the Rosetta Stone program for interactively learning English.  The program speaks simple phrases (The boy is running.  The woman is eating.  The man is swimming.) with appropriate photos and then asks you to repeat the phrases.  They both laughed hysterically because English (without a Russian accent) sounds utterly ridiculous to them both! 

We let them stay up as late as they wanted to - they went to bed around 11 o'clock, which felt extremely late after such a long day.  I hope that we will all sleep in tomorrow!  Tomorrow's big agenda item is going to the supermarket!!  It is so hard to believe that as I type, they are actually sleeping in the next rooms!  Wow... life is rich.  Thank You God...

...Spu-see-buh... Spu-see-buh... :o)

Farewell Party

Yesterday was another rich and full day!  I can not possibly do justice to all of the ways God is at work in our lives this week - let me just say that we are experiencing reminders of the great connectedness of all things, and that we are feeling blessed beyone our wildest dreams.  More on all of that later!

The big thing going on yesterday was a party at 3:00 pm!  I am told by our translater missionary friend that has been a serious buzz at the orphanage this week.  Everyone is so excited - party on Monday and the kids are leaving on Tuesday.  I think it is remarkably similar to living through the days leading up to a big highly-celebrated wedding, with Lera and Vitalik very happily at the center of the activity.  They are elated and excited (and I am sure they will soon realize that they are also emotionally exhausted)!!  This is an amazing time in their lives (In our lives as well obviously!) and we are all doing our best to enjoy each second of it!

The driver picked us up at 1pm and took us to a HUGE supermarket.  He is our dear friend now.  Although we can barely communicate using our very broken Russian, there is a clear mutual respect and affection going on, and it is rich.  He led us through the supermarket, helping us select the best cakes, fruits, and juices for the party.  Then we told him that we wanted to bring candy boxes for the kids to give to their teachers and caregivers.  He very carefully helped us select the best boxes of candy.  We trusted his instincts, because he is afterall, far more knowledgable about what is appropriate than we are!  It was fun!

I cut my thumb while slicing apples.  Vitalik helped me with a bandaid.  I had them in my backpack in case a kid got hurt - it was funny that I was the one who ended up needing to be patched up!

We stuffed all of the bountiful party supplies into the trunk and drove to the orphanage.  The kids met us at the car and were pretty delighted when we opened the trunk.  Lera put her hand on my shoulder and said with sweet delight in her voice, "Zaaavvvtraaa!" (tomorrow!)  The big day of coming home with her parents is finally almost here!  They were both dressed in nice white shirts and had clearly decided that today was a day to look their best.  They did, of course, look gorgeous!!  

The party was awesome.  Vitalik engaged in big negotiations and planning conversations with the social worker and driver about exactly where he wanted the party and how it would all work.  He has serious skills in figuring out what will work and then talking with everyone to make it so.  He is a born leader!  It was a bit of work to get it organized, but he was right - his plan for how and where the party should be was perfect.  We piled both kids classmates into Vitalik's classroom, with the tables and chairs arranged perfectly to accommodate the group.  The kids and a couple of close friends helped set the tables, cut the fruit, lay out all of the food and party favors, and blow up balloons.  It was a good atmosphere!  The kids (about 30) neatly filed in and took their seats.  Also present were both teachers and the translator missionary who is so dear to all of the kids.  She prayed for us and then translated a few sentences from us:  "We have so enjoyed our time at Lezevoyeh.  We think that Lezevoyeh is a very good place.  Thank you very much for making us feel welcome and being so kind to us while we were her.  Please enjoy the party!"  Then Eugene got the tunes buzzing on his ipad. 

Vitalik was a good host.  He went with the driver to take a separate cake, juice, and box of candy to the director's office.  Another time he took a plate down to the driver who ended up waiting outdoors so that he could visit with other kids while we were there.  He also left briefly once or twice to find a few missing friends and make sure they came to enjoy the party.  I refilled juice glasses and handed out extra bananas.  It was a day of bounty! 

The provisions were bountiful!  The tables looked much more festive after we spread out
 the party favors and balloons, but no pics of that!

The teachers said kind words, wishing the kids health and happiness for themselves and their new siblings and parents... telling them to study hard and have a long and happy life... and to never forget their friends at Lezevoyeh.  Vitalik's teacher said that she was so happy for us that we had come to Lezevoyeh to find our  children and bring them home. 

Pretty girl heading back to class after the party.

All-in-all it was an awesome celebration and just a fantastic send-off for the kids.  As I have said before, they have clearly been very well loved and we are just so thankful!

This morning, we will sign them out of Lezevoyeh and become their parents forever.  When they go to bed tonight, they will no longer be orphans.  Thank you God.

Apartment Visit and Circus

Wow, today was full and we are so tired!  We visited the orphanage for a couple of hours and then, with a sudden and happy change of plans, we brought the kids home to our apartment for a couple of hours before heading to the Simferopol Circus!!  There is a lady who has been kind to Lera and Vitalik over the past year or so, and she invited us all to meet her at the circus.  It was a very kind offer, but since she did not have a car, it required a LOT of cooperation from our driver, who, as I have mentioned before is a remarkably kind man and genuinely loves these kids! 

Bringing them to the apartment for a little visit was an awesome treat.  Each step from the car to the apartment felt special...pushing the coded buttons to unlock the outer door to enter the building, watching Eugene turn the key to enter the apartment.  They loved the apartment and thought everything about it was special from the pictures on the wall to the white dishes in the cabinet.  We had a bountiful snack together of summer sausage, cheeses, apple slices and bread.  Vitalik stood at the table and cut the meat and cheeses, arranging it neatly around the edges of a plate.  When he finished, he washed and put away all of the items he had used. 

We showed them the clothing we brought for them and let them choose an outfit for us to bring on Tuesday when we picked them up.  Lera was, of course, very happy to have a stack of new clothing, and liked many (but not all!) of the things we had brought for her.  Girl's clothing is REALLY hard to select and properly fit without said girl being present to approve the fashion and the fit, so I didn't expect her wardrobe to be exactly right , but she was definitely very happy and found something cute to wear on Tuesday.  She went ahead and began wearing a pair of sweet sparkly flower earrings that were included in her goodies... they looked very pretty on her of course!  She was also really pleased with her new little zipper pouch that holds her brand new toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouth wash.  I pray that we will all (on some level) always know to be thankful for such luxuries!

Vitalik's wardrobe was a total slam dunk!  Everything fit well and was totally to his liking.  (At any age, shopping for boys clothing is just a million times easier than girls!)  He tried on clothes and said things like, "Good!  I happy!" while I sat on the bed and clapped.  He had so much fun thinking about which shirt to choose for Tuesday and gave a lot of thought to whether he would wear the black socks or the white ones, asking  for every one's input.  What a joy to have such tough decisions to make!   After making all of the selections and stowing the excess clothing in the suit case, he paused and said with sincerity, "Big Thank You!"  Eugene gave him a big hug and said, "You are welcome...We love you!"  It was awesome!

The circus was a real treat too of course.  It was a round big-top with fountains, bright lights, lots of gymnasts in cool costumes, performing dogs, a jumping bear, trapeze artists, and an amazing strong man!  During our time at the apartment, we helped the kids prepare gift bags for the driver and their lady friend whom we met at the circus.  They were very happy to be able to present gifts to the people who have been so kind to them.  After the circus, we were all pretty wiped out, and we took the kids back to the orphanage and said, "Da Zavtra."

So now we sleep! 

Hands

Yesterday was Saturday, and the weather was gorgeous.  Our driver picked us up and presented Eugene with a new soccer ball (like the rest of the world, Russian-speaking folks call this a futbol).  Today was going to be all about futbol - the young bucks against team "stara" (old)! 

After briefly saying hello, Lera and her pals requested the video gadgets and spent most of the day holding court in the back seat of our car so that the sun would not cause an unbearable glare on their screens as they enjoyed movies and video games.  :o)  I have come to realize that Lera's reaction to her new parents is best described by the famed line from the Jerry McGuire movie, "You had me at hello."  From the minute we showed up, we were her parents and she was our daughter.  She immediatly loved us compltely, and she was immediatly 100% confident that we love her too.  Whenever we are nearby, she seems to just feel safe and I am so thankful!  So yesterday, as she hung out in the car with her friends, we would occasionally check in to stroke her hair, share candy (confeita) and snacks, and to just make sure they were happy, which they always were. 

Meanwhile, outside of the car, the men and boys went to work on the soccer field (a paved area between two old basketball goals... with the bases of the basketball goal towers serving as soccer goals).  They spent the next 2 hours or so sweating, laughing, and banging into one another, and having an awesome time.  I watched, took pictures, provided water during breaks, and shouted affirmation and jeers in my best broken Russian as appropriate.  Vitalik was in heaven, and his droogs were pretty happy too.  It was a really fun day. 

On the sidelines after a game, Vitalik came over for a drink and got out a calendar, pointed to the date for Tuesday and said, "bye bye Lezevoyeh?"  I checked the date, and said, yes, then looked at him and made a "so so" signal with my hand, essentially asking him if he felt lukewarm about it.  He looked surprised and said, "good!"  I said, "You happy?" and he said, "Yes!  You happy?"   I replied, "Yes!  Ochen (very)!"  then he affirmed, "I happy."  I know that leaving will be hard, but for now, it is good that they are both really looking forward to their new life with great hope and excitement.

After the soccer games were over, and I had just about exhausted our snack supplies for the day, I got out a bag of dried cranberries.  Most of the kids are a little shy about accepting food from us.  (It seems to be a culturally polite response in Ukraine to always refuse the first time something is offered.)  After I insisted and made them feel confident that I really did want to share with them, they all accepted a handful of the snack and said in sweet shy English, "Thank you very much" to which I replied, "You're welcome!  Good English!"  Many even came back for seconds.  One very shy boy who almost never talks didn't say thank you until his friend elbowed him and reminded him to use his manners! 

Yesterday morning, as we were hanging around the apartment, my favorite Jewel song ever (Hands - recorded in 1998) came on.  It would be difficult to find a more perfect song to reflect how we are called to live out our faith with simple acts of love and kindness.   One of my favorite memories from our time at the orphanage yesterday is handing out the dried cranberries to all of the boys after soccer.  They are teenagers, all about my size.  In their world, they are almost men, and many will soon be heading to trade school I guess (and I hope).  It is impossible to describe, but for me there was something truly sacred about pouring a small pile of dried berries into each of their hands... a very simple exchange between human hands. 

Just for the record, and for my own enjoyment, I have copied below the Lyrics to Jewel's 1998 masterpiece.  May each of us do our best live out the words to this song (in whatever small ways we may find) every day of our lives.  I'm pretty sure that this is what life is all about.

"Hands"
If I could tell the world just one thing
It would be that we're all OK
And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful
And useless in times like these
I won't be made useless
I won't be idle with despair
I will gather myself around my faith
For light does the darkness most fear
My hands are small, I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken
Poverty stole your golden shoes
It didn't steal your laughter
And heartache came to visit me
But I knew it wasn't ever after
We'll fight, not out of spite
For someone must stand up for what's right
'Cause where there's a man who has no voice
There ours shall go singing
My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
I am never broken
In the end only kindness matters
In the end only kindness matters
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken
My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken
We are never broken
We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's mind
We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's heart
We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's eyes
We are God's hands
We are God's hands

Mango Keifer Spritzer -- YUMMM!

I must digress for just a moment to talk about the special drink that has become a staple of our diets in Ukraine.  This drink is the mango kiefer spritzer, and it provides a great example of how things have worked for us here.  At the end of our first 2-week trip to Ukraine, we stopped in Kyiv for one night before catching our plane.  You would think that by this time, we would know how to go to the market, and we certainly thought we did.  We walked in the freezing wind to the nearby market and managed to get home with what we thought were just the items we needed to survive for our brief stay.  I must say, we were feeling pretty good about our accomplishment of navigating to (and through) the market experience on our own; we commented that we had been far more intimidated two weeks earlier... you know the drill... we had come a long way baby! 

So, the shopping list had included just the few things we would need to get through dinner and the next morning's coffee before heading to the airport at 5am.  Our list had included mango juice which we had come to love, as well as cream and bottled water (both for coffee).   The next morning, as we tried to make said coffee ... the water turned out to be sparkling (here they call it "water with gas!") and yes, of course, the cream turned out to be drinkable yogurt!  We had to laugh at our complete lack of competence in combination with our newly acquired confidence! 

As with many of life's unexpected turns, this ended up being a great thing.  We now LOVE to have mango yogurt spritzers for breakfast, and have pernamantly added kiefer and "water with gas" to our shopping lists!  :o)

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles!

Wow!  How time flies when you are visiting Ukraine for your third and final adoption trip!  Let me do a brief catch-up.  We left home Wednesday morning, flew from Raleigh to Newark, NJ and then on to Dusseldorf, Germany where we enjoyed a few hours and a lite breakfast before heading on to Kyiv, Ukraine.  We arrived in Kyiv on Thursday afternoon, went with our driver to the train station, exchanged money, bought water and snacks, and got on the train.  Our train ride (15 hours overnight - arriving in Simferopol on Friday morning) was actually quite pleasant and relaxing.  This particular Raleigh to Simferopol journey was kind of interesting because we were transporting clothing for four people (ourselves plus the kids) in baggage for just the two of us.  It was not easy, and it made us really happy to think that on the return trip, we'll have two additional able-bodied people to help carry all of this!  In fact, throughout all of the travel (plane and train) it was really exciting thinking that the next time we do these things, we'll have Lera and Vitalik with us!! 

We were met in Simferopol by our friendly driver and a new facilitator, who was also nice.  The facilitator had arrived one day earlier to pick up our adoption decree from the court.  We squeezed all of our baggage into the trunk and headed straight for the town where the kids were born (about an hour's drive) to request a their new birth certificates.  After the drive there, we sat in the car and waited for perhaps an hour.  When the facilitator returned, the news was not good.  There was a mistake in the court document, and we had to return to Simferopol.  It was a little scary, frustrating, and we were again helpless, but we tried to be patient and confident and just see how it all turned out - blessedly, it ended well.  I will spare you the details, but we burned up that one-hour strip of 2-lane highway on Friday (with a lot of waiting in the car at various stops), and finally, at the end of the day, we did indeed have new birth certificates that have the kids' new names and list us as their parents.  We were so thankful!

The time was about 5:30pm on Friday, and we headed straight for the orphanage.  (Please keep in mind that we had been traveling in planes, trains, and automobiles for three days straight, and probably didn't look our best, but oh well!)  It was awesome to see Vitalik and Lera, of course.  It is an amazing feeling to get to give someone a big hug after you have literally traveled across the world to see them.  Just awesome!  We had 30 minutes to walk and visit with just the four of us.  We were so thankful that our facilitator had just worked out a schedule for the next few days so that we could tell them what to expect.  The plan is this:
- Visit at noon on Saturday and Sunday
- Have their farewell party at 3pm on Monday
- Sign them out on Tuesday, go apply for new passports, and then begin living together in a Simferopol apartment for a week while we wait for the new passports to be ready...then to Kyiv for a few days... then to America.

Both kids were very excited and perhaps a little giddy with this news.  Vitalik took longer than usual to be confident that he got it, and kept wanting to review the details to be sure that he really understood.  It must feel pretty surreal to them both - it certainly does to me and I'm almost forty!  Lera refused to acknowledge that she understood and just kept giggling and shouting with a smile, "NO!  I don't understand!"  Vitalk wanted to know at exactly what time we would be going to the supermarket.  "Supermarket, what o'clock?"  With a big grin, he mimed himself  pushing a shopping cart through the grocery store and putting one of everything in his cart.  It is said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and I'm pretty sure that the same is true of teenage boys!  This is one boy who can not wait to have whatever he wants to eat, and I for one can not wait to feed him!

We walked to the playground and spent an awesome 20 minutes or so doing various tricks and flips.  A real highlight was when about 4 of us spotted Eugene as he attempted a backbend!  It was laugh-out-loud funny!  At the end of the visit, the facilitator told them the plan in Russian, ending with, "On Tuesday we will take you away from Lezevoyeh forever," again, Lera refused to believe and finally Eugene told her, "Lera, pravda (truth)!"  which made her literally jump and down with joy.  It was really awesome to see.   We said "Da zavtra!" and headed home with grins on our faces.  After a quick stop at a tiny market, we were home (FINALLY) to take a hot bath and eat an easy dinner of sliced summer sausage, cheese, and bread.

The Transitive Property of Love :o)

It has been almost 2 weeks since our court date.  The 10-day waiting period is over, and today we begin our final adoption trip to Ukraine.  This trip will take 2.5 weeks and will involve acquiring new birth certificates, new passports, and getting the kids through US immigration.  After visiting the orphanage for a few days, we will have a farewell party and bring Vitalik and Lera to live with us in our Simferopol apartment while we wait for necessary paperwork to be completed.  It is exciting (and a little scary!) to think of being together for more than just a few hours at a time.  This will be a really awesome time of beginning to live through some of the joys and some of the pains of this enormous transition in all of our lives.

As we have been preparing for this final trip, we have so appreciated the amazing support that we have received from our family and community.  It is beyond incredible for us to be having this globe-trotting adventure at this stage in our lives... knowing that our three little boys are incredibly well cared for and our home and lives are running smoothly while we are away.   Words simply cannot adequately express our gratitude. 

Last night I begin thinking about the transitive property of love.  As I recall from my middle school math class, the Transitive property of equality goes something like this:  "A=B and B=C... therefore A=C"  My realization last night was that love works in exactly the same way.  We are blessed to be authentically loved by so many special people.  We genuinely love Lera and Vitalik.  The amazing thing is that so many who love us already love Lera and Vitalik before they have ever met them.  I think it will be really strange and awesome for our new kids to begin to realize this special truth! 

So as we sit in the airport awaiting our first flight in this final adoption journey, we are filled with hope for the future, and with sincere gratitude for the transitive property of love.