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Learning Russian the fun way

Hi Everyone,

So we don't speak more than 10 words of Russian, and yet when you know you know you know.  We meet with the boys today and got a chance to play with them.  We had a lot of fun and the boys even started to warm up to us.  So the facilitator and the psychologist were there, and they were talking on and off, and after about an hour half I figure out they are asking the boys some more serious questions.  To which it was clear the boys were saying nyet.  Also a lot of babooshka(grandmother) was flying around.  At that point I figured out they were asking if they would like to come with us and they answered no they want to stay with their grandmother.  It is actually more complicated than that, we learned that there is also a grandfather in the picture, and possibly a biological father.  It seems in the Ukraine the mother is allowed to put anyone they want as the father on the birth certificate.  And supposedly according to the grandmother when she found out we were coming somehow she pulled out the real father and even though he is not interested in adopting or really coming around he is somewhat in the picture.  Also I guess the grandmother is an angry lady who enjoys a good scream once in a while, so the orphanage director is a little resistant to cause any sort of conflict with her.  

With all that, the search for our sons continue.  In a lot of ways it is good we did not host Vlad because more likely than not he would have come back and his grandmother would have told him not to leave, also Dima was very much against leaving so we would have had to somehow convince him.  We head back to Kiev tomorrow.  When we arrive some paperwork will get filled with the SDA and we basically repeat this process all over again.  We should have our new appointment with the SDA Monday or Tuesday of next week and with an insane amount of luck as soon as this Thursday.

Also we did have some fun today since we went to probably the coolest playground ever, check out our website for the pics and video (uploaded in a day or two).

We know God has a great plan for our family and we have complete faith in Him.  His path may not always be the easiest but it is the greatest.

Love,

The 4 searching for 2 more

Da, Nyet, Mohzhitbyt

Hi Everyone,

First off the praise report.  We finally got a great nights sleep Maggie slept 10 hours, 8 hours straight, and Isabella slept 10 hours straight so we were finally able to get some decent rest.  We think Maggie does not like the little tent sleeper we bought her.  When she rolls over or slighty wakes up, we think she gets terrified and has no idea what is going on.  So we made a makeshift crib/bed last night and oh how beautiful the sleep was!

Now for the news that everyone has been waiting for, but first this ad from our sponsor.....Seriously not our sponsor but we did visit the orphanage and there is this great charity that works directly with the kids at the orphanage as well as helping kids that are to old for the orphanage.  They help the older kids transition from the orphanage life to the real world and help them avoid all the pitfalls that comes with being thrown essential out on their own.  Please go to http://mercyshope.org/ and help out any way you can, it makes no difference in our adoption process but it makes a world of difference to the kids, and that is what matters.

So now with out further delay here is what happened today.  Basically we completely overwhelmed and perhaps intimated Vlad and Dima a bit.  There ended up being 7 adults plus our two girls in the room when they showed up and as you would imagine they were very shy.  Dima cheered up a lot more once we started talking some and showing him some pictures.  Vlad we were told is very quite and focused and reserved, so he did not show much emotion.  He did like the gifts (even thought the jersey might fit him in 5 years), and got very interested when we showed him all the pictures.  Isabella also went around the room and handed everyone a mint including the boys and she and they really liked that.  They then left the room after about 10-15 minutes.  They were both very small and cute.  Dima was about the same size as Isabella, and Vlad was only a few inches taller.  Both looked healthy and well mannered.  They seem very close to one another, like good brothers should be...right Eric?

We talked to the orphanage director a lot and found out some very interesting information.  They do have a grandmother but because of her health, and perhaps other reasons she was not allowed to adopt the children, but is allowed visitation from time to time.  Also we found out that a nice Italian couple came about a year ago to try and adopt them but the older boy Vlad said no because he wanted to stay near the grandmother.  We also found out that the orphanage did not really prepare the kids at all that we were coming, so they were obviously overwhelmed.  They were just told that someone is coming to visit them. So basically at this point we have not been given an answer, but it is not looking good.  We are hopefully going to be able to spend some time with the kids latter this afternoon, and/or maybe tomorrow.  We may find out more today, but probably not until tomorrow, and Wednesday at the latest.

If they say yes obviously we stay the course and things should go as loosely planned as before.  If they say no there are options, but I will discuss that in another email if it comes down to that.  So at this point lots of prayers for guidance and God to reveal his plan for us and the boys.  We obviously want the boys to say yes, but we do not want it forced or coerced. 

Love,

The 4 hopefully the 6

P.S. The title is phonetic Russian for Yes, No, Maybe