Meeting Day!!!

I will have trouble putting into words today’s events (all good so please read ahead), but let me preface what I want to write with the following, much of what is said in this journal is to keep our friends and family up-to-date all along our journey, but, more importantly, it will also serve as an archive for our new children to read many years from now. We tend to hide some of our heightened emotions behind veiled attempts at humor and mundane daily activities, so with that said…

…after another sleepless night, we left Gorlovka at 7:30 this morning. Kostya arranged for a driver to take us to Torez and Donetsk. So after an 1 ½ hour drive (“drive” is kind, it was a harrowing, white knuckle dash, with some minor brake problems mixed in), we arrived at the Social Worker’s office in Torez. She was so nice and immediately began telling us (through Kostya’s translation) about Elizabeth (they called her Leeza), how sweet and affectionate she was. She also began giving us her history and some of Edward’s. No details here, but no child deserves that and I can assure you, they’ll never have to worry about that again. It was obvious the staff had a heart for this girl. So our hearts went to pounding as you can imagine, so after a few questions and minor paperwork, we were off to the orphanage. It was extremely remote and the ride was quite bumpy, but comfort was not on our minds. When we pulled in, it was actually rather nice, set among many trees. The playground was in front and I saw an older girl walking hand in hand with a little girl with a red sweater, a multi-colored dress and blue tights, I knew it was her from her picture but I didn’t want to get too excited. How could I not, etched forever in my heart and mind are the very first moments I first laid eyes on Justin and Jacob, and now her. These are the moments that God graciously gives us and makes life all that it is. We went inside and met the Director and his wife along with the other Social Worker. They were so nice and so excited that “Leeza” would now have a “MaMa” and “PaPa”. We talked inside a “get to know you room”, and after some personal questions, they brought her in. Sure enough, it was the little girl I saw outside! She immediately got in Jennie’s lap and was so incredibly sweet. All the paperwork, all the travel, all the prayers had lead to this very meeting. We gave her a plush purple elephant and a bunny blanket and she would not let go of them. She readily let me hold her and the feeling of her wanting to be held was overwhelming. She opened up more and more and was very excited about one of the books we brought for her. We could only spend about 45 minutes with her because we still had to go to Donetsk. We hated to say goodbye, but we will be back tomorrow, and the next day……

On to Donetsk, the roads got a little better and we got there about 2:00. Donetsk is a fairly large city and is quite nice. We went straight to the Social Worker’s office and answered some questions there as well. The orphanage was actually within walking distance so off we went. The building and grounds were very nice and clean. The Director asked us to come back at 3:00 because Edward’s group was still napping (she was afraid if we woke him and he was crying, we might not want him ) and they would be up at that time. Kostya went back to the Social Worker’s building to make some copies, so Jennie and I waited in the playground area. At about 3:15, we went back up to meet him in their very large music room. They brought him in and he came right to me and got in my lap, I was stunned, but he was so gentle and easygoing. He was carrying a truck and wanted to play, so we jumped on the floor and started playing. He smiled and laughed easily, we gave him his toys that we brought with us and he began turning the pages in the book and was fascinated by our camera. We only had a few minutes with him, so we went back to the Director’s office to discuss paperwork, any health issues, etc. When we told her we had no doubt, she gave in and let us go to their group storybook time to see him some more. There were about 15 little faces waving at us saying Mama, Papa. That will bring perspective to your life real quick. After playing some more, we had to leave to get back to the Notary in Gorlovka to get the paperwork system in gear. We asked her to wait til 6:00 so we could get there and behold, she had 4 people in her office, so we waited til 7:00. A notary in Ukraine is a full fledged lawyer, not like in the US. We made it back to Kostya’s apartment at 8:00 where Olga had prepared an awesome dinner for us.

Lots of ups and downs to come I’m sure, but God is good and we are resolved to take one day at a time. Thanks to all the comments, Sally especially, and also, Jeff E, we do remember you and think about you often. Uncle Jason and Aunt Mary, thanks for getting the boys and taking them out. Uncle Rob and Aunt Olga, Nichole will never stop talking now. Mom, we miss you, keep the rocking chairs warm. Aunt Char, your “sentence” starts tomorrow, we can never thank you enough. And Boys, most of our lost sleep has been over missing you. Our hearts aren’t whole without you. Susan, John, Pete, and Sondra we send our love.