We Got Referral

We went today to the SDA again with Nadya.We were about 5th in line. We walked in got her referral paper, signed our name by our passport numbers and out the door we went. We were able to see our entire dossier packet too, which was nice.
Other than that, today was spent resting and doing laundry. We also found a nice Itallian restaurant that Lyndi suggested. I was finally able to eat, which I though I would never be able to do.We also met some American missionaries at the restaurant. THey have been here for over a year working within the orphanages and in homeless shelters and will be here for quite some time. They were so nice and able to give us some tips and places to go. The women explanined to me how she felt when she first arrived. It was very comforting to speak to them. We also spoke with a couple at the SDA that adopted a little girl when she was 5 here in Ukraine and now she is 11 and they are back for her sister!!!!How amazing. They had the girl with her and she was absolutly gorgeous.
We were not able to go to orphanage today ;( We have to take the social worker with us from Kiev to the orphanage on the first visit and she was unable to go today. We will be going at 8am in the morning to see her. Nadya said we would have about 2hours with her. YAY!!!Im soo excited to see her.
Nadya said when she was taking her pictures last Nov/Dec Olga and another little girl were being very silly. Hugging each other and laughing and making faces. Those of you that have seen the picture with Olga acting silly with her hands on her head that was it!! I cant wait to see her personality and how she interacts with us.
I want to thank everyone for the prayers, support, words of encouragement and scripture that you have given us. I would have to say this is the most difficult thing I have ever done, but I know in the end will be the most rewarding.
I leave you with a few pictures of the city and hopefully tomorrow we will have the pictures we have all been waiting to see!!

Read post after this one first, lost server connection

I wanted to be honest to everyone so that prayers continue and also for those that are behind us in their own journey, escecially the mommy's can prepare for their own feelings. Last night was pretty bad for me. I ,cried and cried and got on my knees and prayed. I felt lost, scared, homesick and seriously felt like I was having a panic attack, in which I have never had. Joe has been the absolute best husband, I know if he could he would take the feelings I have away. I know why we are here, I know Olga will die one day soon if we do not save her. I just wish these feelings would stop. I talked with my sister Amy last night and she prayed with me on the phone, I also spoke with Karrie and she had alot of encouraging words for me. I was also excited to see the kids on skype and happy to know they are having alot of fun.
The only thing I can come up with is that I need that court date, I need to be able to count down the days till Im home again. So please pray we are told our court date friday. And the countdown can begin. Im def. not a world traveler. Ive come to that conclusion quickly. Im hoping once we go to the orphange and get to see her I will be on a mission at that point.
Thanks for listening...will post tomorrow
LeaAnn

SDA Appointment

Today we went for our appointment to get Olga's referral. Nadya picked us up and we took a taxi. It was nice to see the "main street" which had alot of stores and restaurants. Very busy place.
The building we went to was not what I had imagined, very small and it was a side door to a building. Inside we waited with other families in the lobby area. Nayda said everyone there was waiting for the same thing and our wait could be awhile.
Not 2 minutes later they called us in!!!
We sat down with a woman psychologist and she asked us to tell her about our family and why we want to adopt a child with special needs, easy enough. She then showed us Olga's referral packet!
We were told that she has DS(we knew), that she has the oval window of her heart (we knew that too), and that she also has a hernia, we did not know this, and do not know what type, but very fixable.
We were told that her parents abandaned her at birth at the hospital and signed away all rights at that time and that they knew nothing about her having any brothers or sisters. Such a sad little story she has, so far atleast.
We were then asked how our two kids back home feel about Olga and what state we live in. I showed her the photo album we brought and who each person was and what each place was. She seemed very pleased with our answers and told us we had beautiful children back home.
Nadya tried to get them to exchange our photo that we have of Olga with the newborn picture, but they said they would not do it now that we would have to wait till later, which is fine.
We were out the door in less than 10 minutes. Nadya is hoping that we will have our court date by Friday or MOnday and is pretty sure it will be next week sometime that the official court date will take place. I pray this is true.
We have to go back to the SDA tomorrow and wait in line with everyone else to pick up our referral. to go see her. Nadya said she is going to try and arrange us to go directly to the orphanage after that, but we will have to wait and see.

I want to be honest with everyone so that the prayers continue and to those that are behind us in the process, espc

Second Day

Right now it is 4pm here. After sleeping 14+hours, Im doing much better. The initial shock of being in a new country along with jet lag was not pleasant. But Joe and I both have actually laughed today!!
We got ready and went to another market, which was nicer than the last one. I was on a search for water, I have never been so dehydrated and thirsty for water before. We kept buying water, but it was carbonated and not quinching our thirst. Finally I found Evian.
We continued to walk around the area and also found a toy store,they have the same toys that we have in the states.
We are now back in our apartment. We will try the TGI Fridays restaurant that we have heard from other families tonight and try and relax and watch a movie. Our SDA appt. is tomorrow at noon. We are soo excited to get the process started here and be able to find out information about Olga.

Here we are doing our many flight!


YAY!!In Ukraine Airport





Our apartment, very bright and cheery, exactly what I need ;)



Sidewalks here are for driving on first, then walking


Gracie, they have barbies here just like at home!!!!


This is apartment from across the street. The buildings here on the outside look alot different from the inside.

I will post after our SDA appt. tomorrow. Thanks for all the prayers and support. It is great to know we have so much support. Love you guys!!!

We Are Here!

After countless hours in multiple airports, three flights, one of those in which I thought was never going to end ...here we are. In little Miss Olga's country of Ukraine!!
It has been a major culture shock on top of the fact that we are jet lagged and just plain exhausted. When we arrived, our facilatator took us to our apartment, which is pretty nice. We both got cleaned up and went to a local market to try and figure out what to keep in our apartment in the way of food. We both are soo confused as to what is ok to eat and what is not, we ended up with some pasta and sauce and some Coke Light, which thankfully tastes like Diet Coke.
Not sure if anyone else was ever really overwhelmed, scared and lost, but I surely am. I hate feeling like this, because I know what this trip is for, it is to save Olga. But I have creid non stop since we have gotten to apartment, I think I have actually scared Joe a little.
We were able to take a nap for a couple hours and now Joe is trying to cook the pasta. I hate having these feeling, I alomst feel disapointed in myself, that just because Im out of my comfort zone, Ive broken down.
I have tried to tell myself that it is short lived, that Jesus went through much more and that little Olga is depending on me to be strong. But if prayers could please be sent this way it would be soo thankful.
Will try to get much needed rest and hopefully tomorrow I will be able to post a few pictures.
Having trouble with our email, so if anyone that usually just responds via email, try to leave a post here.
Talk soon :)

Leaving Tomorrow!!!

Bright and early in the morning we will be quietly kissing the kids goodbye and sneaking out of the house. We are saying our goodbyes tonight to family and friends at dinner and hope to cuddle at home with the kids the rest of the evening.
Oh how I will miss them. My heart hurts to know that I will be without them for such a long time.
The journey is one that God is sending Joe and I on and I know he will pave the way and comfort us along the way. Im praying too that He provides comfort and security to the kids and allow them to undestand the importance of this time in our lives and how incredible it will be to have Olga at home with us.
This little girl so far away has no idea that we are coming for her. She has no clue that when we see her for the first time, we are going to be overwhelmed with joy and happiness and Joe will most likely cry, alot! ( hopefully this will not scare her ;) )

We are soo excited to begin learning about her and who she is!! Please keep us in your prayers!! IF you see the kids, please give them a hug and let them know they are brave! And keep checking the blog, we will be updating while we travel.
We decided not to make our blog private, we want to share with everyone!!
So stay tuned.....

Where are the nerves!!!!

Ok, everyone keeps asking me if Im nervous! Now I feel like I should be.
Where are the nerves!!!
So I started thinking about all the things I have postponed and put off because Im not rushed and not nervous.
So now if anyone wants to know, Iam nervous!!!! :)

I feel like time is running out and I have soo much left to do. I know we are not supposed to worry, God is in control. I get that.
But now I feel like my head is spinning and I cant think of what needs to be done!!!

Our living room is a mess with our travel stuff and so is our dining room table!! So no fancy homemade meals this week!

It was so funny this morning I was getting ready and Gracie said, "Shouldnt you be packed and ready, dont you leave the country in a few hours!". Too funny, even though we do not leave for 4 days, even my daughter is reminding me to get things in order! ;)

I was up late last night listening to Hillsong United, if you have never heard of them they are an Australian Christian band that I absolutely love!!!
The song Hosanna came on, in which I love and there were a few verses that have really been weighing heavy on my heart, so here they are....

Heal my heart & make it clean,
Open up my eyes to the things unseen,
Show me how to love like you have loved me!
Break my heart for what breaks yours,
Everything Iam for your kingdoms cause,
As I walk from earth to eternity!!!

I know this journey will not be an easy one, for the kids, for us in a foreign country, for the families watching our kids... But I also know that the Lord will give us strength, and give the children comfort. When we look into the eyes of our little girl, so lost and broken, we will know our purpose and continue to look to what the future holds for her.
Our suffering does not compare to the what the Lord endured for us!!

Less than a week away!!!

It has been a busy week!!! We have finalized flight and apartment plans and continue to make list after list of last minute things that need to be done.
We are soo excited to finally be on our way to meet her. God is soo good and we are very thankful to be on this journey with Him guiding us.
We spent our last weekend at church for awhile and it was great just to sing His praises and to feel His presence. It seems like our time is spent making sure kids will be content when we are gone and that everything is in order with our business and home. We have forgotten to stop and take time to be before Him and thank Him for all He has done in our lives this past few months.
The kids have spring break this week, it worked out perfectly to have time with them this week without the hustle and bustle of school and activities. We are spending time cuddling, reading books and watching movies!! I will miss them soo much. I keep reminding Gracie, who is a mama's girl, that even though we will miss each other, that to keep in mind that Olga needs a home and a family. Everytime we talk about her she just smiles and says "I love O-ga". She always forgets the "L" in Olga!!!Soo cute :)
The Pampered Chef party went really well. We had a really good turn out!!! Thanks to everyone who ordered and especially to Amy and Karrie for putting everything together!!
Will continue to post during our frantic packing and organizing, thanks for all the prayers and support!!!!

WE GOT IT!!!!!!

I opened the email less than 10 minutes ago and screamed at the top of my lungs in our office!!!
Our SDA appointment is March 30th!!!!!!!!
Im in absolute shock it is that quick. Less than two weeks away we will be in our little girls country. Our appointment is where we get her referral to see her in the orphanage.
We all started crying, even our secretary!!
They want us there on Sunday March 28th. I have soo much to do and get done and think about. All the things I have postponed are now an immediate task.
Thank you so much for the prayers and support.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! Praise God!!!!

Awaiting Our Travel Date

We are now just awaiting our travel date. Our in country facilitator said that all documents looked really good and he did not foresee an issue with the State Dept. of Adoption. So we are keeping our fingers crossed that they feel the same way!
We hope to get the appointment date soon. There are still tons of things we need to do before traveling, but I have been procrastinating quite a bit.
My best friend Karrie and my sister Amy are putting on a Pampered Chef party for us to finish raising the last bit of money needed for the traveling expenses. We are soo excited they are doing this for us!! If anyone wants to place an order just let me know and I can add it on!!! We are doing the actual party Saturday the 20th! Just leave me a msg. for details:)
As soon as we get the news I will post. But for now just keep us in your prayers that our dossier will breeze through and we will be ready to go!!

MARCH 4TH!!!

We just received our submittal date to the SDA in Olga's country.
Our facilitator will be turning in our dossier to the State Dept. of Adoption!!

One step closer!! Hopefully it will not be long after that. We are still not sure how quickly it will be. When we look at other families journey's it all seems to differ. And now with the new interpol form, it may take a couple weeks longer.
But we are defintely excited today to get the news!!

We are coming soon Olga!!!!!