For those of you who don't know already, we are now going back to Ukraine to adopt Alyssa's biological brother and sister, Dina and Sergey (picture above) ........hopefully next month. Dina will be 6 on September 9th. She is such a little cutie pie :) She has beautiful blue eyes and big sweet smile. When we met her for a very brief time in March, she couldn't stop smiling at us. She was in her classroom and her teacher let her get up and recite a poem for us. She spoke such beautiful Russian and smiled the whole time she was speaking. We only got to "observe" her for about 30 minutes. When we had to leave her classroom, my heart just sank. I miss her so much!!!!! Sortof strange for a child you only got to see for 30 minutes, huh? Not when it is your child, because then.......they become a part of your soul. I loved Alyssa, Dina and Sergey before we ever met them.
Sergey (who is 8)........I just want to cry everytime I think about him. When we met him, it was a different story. While Dina didn't really know why we were there, Sergey did. He ran up to Chris calling him "Papa" and hugged him so tight. He told me, "Mama", to sit down in his chair while he stood at his desk.......such a sweet gentlemen :) (of course I didn't let him stand , I got another chair). One of the caregivers told us all about Dina and Sergey while we were in Sergey's class. She told us Dina likes to be the center of attention, she is a very sweet girl, but is very energetic :) Chris should have fun with all the energy he has :) She told us Sergey is more laid back. He is very smart, loves to read and draw. He was so cute while we were there......He would write something and then show it too us. He did this several times. His handwriting was beautiful!! A lot better than mine and he is 8! It was so cute when the caregiver asked him how old he was (he had just had a birthday a few days before) He smiled from ear to ear and said "Voysim" which means "eight" in Russian. He was so proud! He too recited a poem and although I couldn't understand a word he was saying, I felt like a proud mother listening to him :) When our translator told us it was time to go, Sergey came up to me and hugged me so tightly with his cheeks pressed against mine. I never wanted to let him go. He then said to me something over and over again that I could not understand. But at the end of the words he said "America", "America" I was assuming he was asking if he was going to come with us to America. So I told him "Da" (yes) But then I said "Ya Ne Pene-My-You PaRuski" (I don't understand Russian). At that point he had to join the other children. They were putting on their coats and hats to go outside. Sergey gave Chris and I hugs goodbye and we walked outside. I couldn't help myself, so I ran back in and through the crowd of the children told him "Dasvidanya" (goodbye) an he said "Dasvidanya". I walked outside and just cried.
We went back to the director to see if we could possibly spend more time with the children, but he wouldn't budge. He was just worried about hurting the children. He once had a family who spent a lot of time with a little boy there and they ended up deciding not to adopt him. The boy was crushed. Atleast I know this director has good intentions and truly cares for the children. We got onto the overnight train back to Kiev that evening. I cried the whole way home. I left a part of me at that orphanage and I can't wait until we can go back to hold our children in our arms for good!
Fast forward to today.......It has been 4 months, 2 weeks, and 5 days since I have seen them. In that time, I have gotten pictures of them (we weren't allowed to take any while there). A lovely lady who I have met through a friend sent them to me. One of them is above. Their pictures, and my precious daughter, Alyssa, is what keeps me strong. Not to mention my faith in God. If it weren't for him, none of this would be possible. God is so good isn't he? Thank you Lord!
We should know when our travel date is soon. We have to have an appointment at the Adoption Center (SDA) first before we can travel to adopt Dina and Sergey. The SDA has been shut down since April, but reopened last month. They will start seeing families again starting September 1st. From what I have heard, families who are adopting already known children will have first priority for appointments. If that is the case, we will be traveling in September probably. If that is not the case, we could travel anytime between September to January. The SDA is mailing out letters to all families who have a date in September to inform them of their appointment date. They are sending these letters out on August 10th. They are also supposed to post a list of these families along with the dates for our translators to see on August 10th. So, we may know by the end of next week when we are traveling :)
Please keep Dina and Sergey in your prayers and please pray that we will get an appointment ASAP. Also, please keep all of the other families who are waiting to adopt from Ukraine in you prayers also. This wait has been difficult for all the families adopting. And lastly, please pray for the New Adoption Center (SDA). Pray that they will treat families fair and that they will be able to run things without corruption. I have faith in them, I know they can do it :)
We will let you know as soon as we hear something.
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