Day 40

Today was a day of leisure. After some breakfast and a much needed shower, I arranged for a cab to take myself, Nick and Noah to pick up some souvenirs from the tourist mall. The vendors there all speak English and many take US dollars; although I already exchanged for hrivnias. There’s a good amount of items to choose from: baboska dolls of all kinds, decorated wooden eggs, wooden maces, chess sets, hats, WW2 memorabilia, USSR memorabilia, snacks, drinks, and clothing. Nick got a Ukrainian baseball cap, Noah an old military cover with patches and Russian metals. I got Jenn a nice baboska doll that is in her favorite color (Russian style since our girls speak Russian). I won’t speak of the gift we brought back though, that’s a surprise!
After getting back, Jennifer and Yulia went to a local bank to withdraw a cash advance on the check card. This wasn’t as easy as we thought it would be. They had to try three banks that would find one that had enough cash. All we were withdrawing was $1,000. My CheckCard has a higher limit than that. While out, Jennifer learned that a bill was being presented to the Ukrainian Congress that would eliminate international adoptions. I’m glad we didn’t know this because I may have reconsidered adopting – which now I could never imagine doing. But the bill didn’t pass and now the number of dossier submissions is back up to what they were.

I praise God that our adoption was so smooth. Although the aunt caused some problems for us, she didn’t cause any delays in the paperwork. We have heard the horror stories: prosecutors appealing; documents being lost or incorrect (ie birth certificate); children deciding to not be adopted; and adoption disruptions. I want everyone to know how special this adoption is: there were no other sisters available for adoption in all of Ukraine; there are hardly any relatively healthy children available as most are now considered special needs; the new passport and VISA processes will take longer for everyone; the girls feel comfortable enough to convey their feelings; none of the paperwork was incorrect, lost, or delayed; we had water and hot water the entire time; we had power the entire time; we met new friends who helped us in parenting our daughters and are a great encouragement; our costs were lower than average; Kaitlyn was miss-categorized as being special needs so most people overlooked her; and Sarah was never considered for adoption. God’s hand is truly on this adoption and the girls were set apart (hmm… same as being holy) for us. By God’s help and leading, we’ve overcome language barriers, logistic obstacles, financial issues, and the hardship of being in another country of a completely different language.

Tonight, Sarah asked me to comb her hair. Kaitlyn is allowing us to play with her much more (lifting, carrying, etc). We didn’t have to get on to them about anything serious and any discipline was just giving reminders. Sarah helped me wash dishes and clean up. Kaitlyn is good about getting the trash picked up but then she leaves some too. Oh! And Kailtyn finally “ka-keet” (poop) in the toilet! The girls are very excited about tomorrow. Yulia explained how the trip will go so hopefully that will make the very long day a bit easier. We can’t wait!