Went great!! We were seen 2nd out of seven families there today (3 American and 4 Ukrainian adoptions). We stayed for all 3 American adoptions - all were approved and we were out of there well before lunch. Judge was stern, but fair and clearly interested in the kids well being. He was very sweet and good with the kids during their questioning. He asked me very practical questions - do you have room for these children. Can you afford to take in these children. He asked Wendy more emotional questions - why are you adopting these children. Wendy couldn't get a word out, but sobbed. In reaction to this - the judge smiled and asked her to sit down and take her time. After that, he knew our commitment and feelings for Katya and Andrei. You don't mess around with a Mama and her children. Amen.

We're picking up the kids today at 4pm and meeting the other 2 American families at McDonalds. Then we'll retreat to one our apartments for a ice cream and cake celebration. We hope to see/talk with Katie, Andy, and Olivia on Skype later today - with Katya and Andrei present.

We still have to wait out the 10-day period for any contestations to the adoption. None are expected, but please PRAY. We should be able to take the kids from the Orphanage on Wednesday, 12 March, for good. Then 8-10 days in Sevestopol to complete paperwork and then to Kiev for 3-4 days to complete paperwork. Then home....YESSS. Court pics below. Sorry, Serg #2 is a great interpreter but doen't claim to be a great photographer...

Sorry folks we've been conserving internet use to stretch through today (Wednesday, 27 Feb). We check out of one apartment today and move to another - that promises unlimited internet connection!

The hike went great Sunday. It was about a 5-6 hr round trip with views of Yalta (resort town on Black Sea Coast), Black Sea, several waterfalls, and other cool vistas. Wendy stayed back at the apartment due to not feeling well. It was a good thing - the hike was strenuous, wet, snow, and slick. Friends of our guide also came along. Four other kids from the orphanage, me (Chad), Andrei, Katya, and Andrei's girlfriend (Marina) made the hike. Following the hike, we had a feast at a hotel near the trailhead.

We have received much encouragement from you blog readers over the past few days. God (through many of your emails, prayers, etc.) has shown us that our extended stay here is helping grow a stronger bond between us and Andrei/Katya. Our marriage relationship has also continued to grow and strengthen. We have been concerned with leaving Katie, Andy, and Olivia for so long. The families they have been staying with have been awsome and allowed the KAO gang to stay in their routine as much as possible. But now - even better news! Mimi (of the Pops and Mimi grandparent duo) requested and found work assignment at Fort Campbell for most of the month of March and will be staying with KAO at the house! This is great news. KAO can sleep in their own beds and not have so much travel time each day. Also, my parents and oldest brother's family are visiting with KAO this Friday-Saturday.

The way we understand it - our court appearance is tomorrow (28 Feb). We'll receive the court decree on about 12 March and take Andrei and Katya from the orphanage to stay with us (its a done deal!!). We'll finish up paperwork in Sevastopol around 20-22 March. We'll then travel to Kiev and finish up paperwork with US Embassy and get on a plane for home around 25-26 March. If things go well we might get home around 3 days earlier, but there's not much wiggle room in the chain of events that we have to work through.

On a final note - Wendy made some American-style Russian Tea (also referred to as Friendship Tea). It is a big hit with Katya, Andrei, and Serg #2 (and me)! I think it may catch on around here...I'll try to post some hiking pictures if the internet $s hold out...

Well, only a few more days til the 28th of February! (We heard on Thrusday that the judge isn't planning on changing the day. We are still hoping for it to be changed to a couple of daysearlier. It will make the difference in our waiting period being the regular 10 days instead of the 13 we have planned now, b/c our 10th day falls on a holiday weekend. JEEZE!!)

Wendy was not feeling well this morning, so I (with Serg #2) went and picked Katya Elizabeth and Andrei (he clarified today that in english - spell it "ei") at about 11AM. We did some shopping for English Language CD-ROM software and some other odds and ends. We also did some more blue jean shopping with Katya Elizabeth - no success today. I had promised Andrei that if we went shopping with K. E. again, we would play some pool at the bowling alley. We did and had a good time. We returned to the apartment in the afternoon and chilled for a while with Wendy and listened to Andrei's favorite band on a new CD - its hard rock style, (but not screamo!) but Serg #2 assured us the lyrics are nonsense and not offensive. Hey, I just saw Steve Erwin (Croc Hunter) bit by a snake on Animal Planet - dubbed over in Russian voice. Woa - just bit again, same snake different finger. That never gets old, but the voice-over doesn't do it justice. Anyway, we returned K. E. and Andrei back to orphanage by 5pm.

Ukraine holiday today - Homeland Defenders Day - fireworks are going off. The orphanage put on a program yesterday and Katya was MC. She did great - we'll post pics in a couple of days. She got to wear nice dressy clothes and looked very pretty.

We bought Andrei new jeans, shirt, and jacket the other day. He really likes them and has worn them every day since. They are not too shy about asking for stuff. The orphans have learned to be very opportunistic and get what they can while they can. We have to remind them that we will get more clothes back home. Money don't grow on trees in America either - they get it.

We found another apartment that has recently been updated, even closer to the center of the city, (most everything is within walking distance, except the orphanage) and is $25/night cheaper. It even has an oven and 8 English-speaking digital TV channels. We move in there on Wednesday. (Woo-Hoo, no more orange!!!!! Don't get me wrong, I love the Big Oranage, but I never said I wanted an all oranage apt!) Now when we finally get the kids for keeps, we can move Serg #2 in another apartment close by and still cost about the same as we have been paying. Wendy chased the deal down herself on the internet. The managers are a husband from England and wife from Ukraine, as well as a cute 2+ yr old named Katya!

We're missing Katie, Andy, and Olivia like crazy and they are having trouble with internet back home - no Skype. They still seem to be doing well - they're the greatest! We'll post an entry just dedicated to those three kiddos soon. We have pics of the prom dress Katie wants - we'll post those also soon.

We have another hike planned for tomorrow. It's to a 300 ft waterfall. Sounds amazing, we can't wait to see it!

Have a great weekend!

Chad and Wendy

More pics below. 1) We are presented the bill for dinner in a small treasure chest - that's different (picture taken by Andrei). 2) Wendy and K. E. enjoying fine american cuisine. 3) Andrei along our hike in the clouds a couple of weekends ago.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a blog so I thought I’d give you my perspective. Things here are going well with the kiddos. We are having a good time with them. They are lots of fun and are funny! They are going to fit right into our family! We are really enjoying our time with them. We just wish it was longer. We see them 2 – 3 hours a day during the week and about 5 hours a day on both Sat and Sun. It is so hard to leave them at the orphanage every night! I just want our whole family together.

We have made some friends while waiting. A couple from Cincinnati is here adopting a girl from the same orphanage. We went to their apartment for dinner Friday night and we had a blast! It was so nice to sit down and unwind. We had stir-fry and rice. It was delicious! Our first real veggies since we got here. (We have to be careful about eating the veggies because we don’t know how they’ve been washed. All we’ve had are potatoes.) For dessert we had yummy Ukrainian ice cream! It was so good! It was so nice to sit down with a couple of Americans and just chill. We look forward to spending more time with them away from the orphanage.

We went bowling with them Sat and took the girls with us. (Andrey was helping a friend with something.) It was freezing in the bowling alley, but fun was still had by all. We then went for pizza and to a store like Wal-mart, only smaller, that we found in the mall/rec center where the bowling alley is. It was fun trying to figure out what everything was. We used the translator to find some bubble bath for Pam, the other mom. That thing is coming in very handy. Andrey says it is his new best friend.

The weather had really turned cold here. It has been being around 12 degrees F with a wind chill around 4 the past few nights when we get back from visiting the kids. That is around 7:30. It is insane!! It has snowed a couple of times, but nothing major.  It’s even hard to get warm inside when it is that cold outside. Needless to say we aren’t getting out much; no more than we have to!

Chad has figured out how to put more pictures on the blog. He had to take them all off the previous blogs so he would have room. I’ll put them all on this blog b/c I can’t figure out how you all can get to my photo album. It’s crazy but it’s free.

That's all for now! Thanks so much for all of the prayers and encouragement. We love to have comments and e-mails from home!

love,

Wendy and Chad

Something I forgot to add. We just stayed at the apartment on Sunday because it was so cold outside. We watched a movie. Katya Elizabeth and I made “No-Bake Cookies” with an improvised recipe and they turned out fabulously! I also made some great Beef Stroganoff and we had a great family dinner with our first family prayer. It was priceless! We all held hands and everyone said “Amen” at the end. It was a sweet time.

We'll the kids are all out of school here due to flu and illnesses. Fortunately, the flu has not hit the orphanage. There have also been 7 cases of bird flu in this area. We ain't got it and we don't want it. We'll stay away from under-cooked chicken and dirty food prep surfaces...ya'll pray with us. Wendy will be squirtin' even more hand sanitizer on us...

The good thing is that due to the school closures this week - Katya and Andrey have some doctors appointements this week and we'll be able to take them and stay out a little longer goofin' off. On our visit today with them - we looked at pictures of the prom dress Katie has picked out and emailed us (yes, she is going to the prom - but it is well after we get home so I'll have a chance to show her date our company's pictures of us blowing stuff up). We also looked at pictures of the construction progress on our new house. Concrete and mud, but Andrey was interested. Andrey and I had a chance for a one on one (plus interpretter) guy talk. We were interrupted by other kids, but it was good and we'll continue. They are both nervous about not being able to speak english very good.

No word from the judge yet regarding moving up the court date, but hey it only 9 more days. Wendy read a good devotional the other day about God using what we may see as non-productive time as a time to get more intimate with Him and strengthen our soul.

We may do another field trip to a 100-m waterfall this coming Sunday (very little hiking involved). An ecologist at the local university volunteers helping teach and maintain a few computers at the orphanage and he has offered this little field trip for us and any of ther other orphanage kids we can fit in vehicles. There is one special little girl here (10 years old) named Ilona (ph. sp.: e-loana) that will be eligible for international adoption in about six months - if there are any of you that feel God's urging...we'll provide a picture soon.

If you get the chance to download a song named (I think) "Crazy Frog - In Rock 8 Bit (By Bi Bit)" - do it, listen, and enjoy. I can't explain it...you'll just have to here it... That's all I have to say about that. Its late here, can you tell.

We picked up Katya and Andrey this morning and came back to the apartment. Wendy and Katya are making some no-bake cookies. It is very cold so we plan on just hanging out and watching movies - Holes and maybe Narnia. Wendy and I were able to talk/see on Skype Katie, Andy, and Olivia yesterday (Jim and Crystle are with them this weekend). Our kids at home are also awsome!!! We are all still praying for the Judge to travel and our court date to get pushed up. No word yet.

Our picture album is full on this blog - we're going to try to figure out how to add megabytes. We'll try to add some tonight.

We've just received news that our court date may be moved up. There is a possibility that our judge will have to leave town on business. If this is the case, they will move our court date up--as in sooner!!!!!!!!!! They will let us know as soon as they know.

PLEASE PRAY like never before that this will happen! We miss the kids at home so badly it hurts and we want all of our family to be together again!

Thanks so much! We'll keep you posted.

Love,

Wendy

We went bowling on Saturday and also bought Katya and Andrey (he let us know its "ey" not "ei") new shoes. The boots that Katya had via the orphanage hurt her feet so we had to get a comfortable pair of atheletic type shoes before our hike on Sunday. The bowling went good - Andrey was a little frustrated about the gutter balls, but was a good sport and improved as time went on. It was a new and up-to-date facility (minus gutter guards) with electronic score keeping etc. - cool. As the last seconds were ticking off our timer for lane use, Katya bowled a strike! (actually it was her second ball, the first was gutter ball, and only counted as a spare - but we didn't point out that distinction). She flexed her arm muscle above her head and yelled a woohoo! (as Papa has taught them).

We got up early on Sunday and drove out to some place about 45 minutes away. We were on the shore line of the Black Sea. Drove half-way up the mountain to a really neat old church that set out on a bluff with shear cliffs on three sides. From there we hiked to a summit that overlooked the shore line and Black Sea. We have alot of good pictures, but just included a couple below. After the hike we came back to the appartment to chill. We had bought a version of Pursuit of Happiness with Russian dub-over. We helped Katya pick it out last weekend - she said she wanted a movie that was good for crying. Katya watched it and did cry a good bit. Wendy snuggled with her and Katya put her head in Wendy's lap. There is one point in the movie where the little boy asks his daddy if he (little boy) did something wrong to cause his mama to leave. The daddy (Will Smith) assures the little boy that he did nothing wrong and was a wonderful son and that it was all the mama's doing and fault - there was something wrong with her. Katya really sobbed during that part. We forgot that dialog was in there and how the whole story might be upsetting to Katya. But God knew she would hear that message - its not her fault and she is perfect the way she is. Wow!

Andrey did not pay attention to the movie (too much of a chick-flick for him). He refers to his bio mama and dad every now and then. Says that since they wrote him off, he's written them off. We told him that if he or Katya ever want to talk about any of that or their feelings we are here. And that if sometimes they get sad or mad moods, its OK and we'll be with them through it all. We had a good talk with them Sunday afternoon. Katya had asked "when did you know you wanted to adopt me?". We answered that and also told Andrey about how we found out about him and knew we wanted to adopt him. We reminded Andrey that although some folks think it strange to adopt a 17 yr old boy, we are going to be his parents for the rest of our lives (hopefully 40-50 more years) and not just for the next few years 'til he's grown up and on his own.

We also talked with the kids back home. Sunday was Olivia's 11th birthday! Where does the time go?! We called and woke her up (at 8:30) so Katya (Elizabeth) and Andrey (Michael) could talk to her and say "Happy Birthday!" It was very sweet. They really enjoy talking with each other and even more, seeing each other through the Skype connection. We can't wait until our whole family is together! Being separated like this is the hardest thing we have ever done!

The Ukraine feds have approved and signed our paper work in Kiev and our contact there (Sergey #1) sent it by train last night (Monday night) for arrival and pick up by Sergey #2 today. We informed Katya and Andrey of that yesterday and they were very happy.

Note that we have to take some pics off the blog in order to make room for new pics. So if you refer back to older blog entries - some pics may no longer be available. Sorry - we are not deleting them from our hard drive, though.

Had a good weekend with Andrei and Katya. We went to the mountains that rise just up off the shoreline of the Black Sea. We reached a summit overlooking the shoreline. We're going to have the Katya and Andei help upload some of our pictures later today. No new news.

We were able to talk/see Olivia with Skype on her birthday yesterday - Katya and Andrei too. Sounds like Olivia had a good birthday with Pops, Mimi, and the Crawford kids along with Katie and Andy.

We'll update some more tonight - hopefully Sergey #2 is out around town finding out about the possibility of one of us coming home after the court appearance.

Had a good visit with Katya and Andrei back at the apartment today. We watched some of the new Nancy Drew moving (dubbed in Russian), ate popcorn, and dipped some kit-kat in peanut butter.

Earlier today, met with orphanage director regarding our donnation and the needs of the orphanage. They are going to get a quote on replacing one window in the girls wing (its the last window in their wing to be upated), and replace the girls exterior door with a more modern, insulated, and secure door with window. They may be able to get the work done before we leave.

Went shopping at the "Fox Mart". Its awsome. We stocked up on groceries and purchased a English-Russian electronic translator with audible voice - in their electronics section. Andrei said the electronic translator is his new best friend! It works like a charm.

We were able to Skype with Pops (and little Ella) and Katie, Andy, and Olivia (KAO). KAO are doing well - we are so proud of them! Pops, Mimi, and the Crawford cousins are due to travel to Franklin and spend the weekend with KAO and celebrate Olivia's birthday. Crawford cousings are getting over the 24-hr bug - so pray that everyone is healthy to travel and the trip is not jeopardized.

We are still checking into the option for one of us to return home after the court appearance while the other waits out the rest of the process.

A good day. Bless you all,

Chad & Wendy

Court date is set for 28 Feb, but we'll keep praying for a miracle. Either way we are content that it is in God's hands and his timing. We are also checking on potential options after the court date that might allow one of us to go on home until the other arrives with Katya and Andrei. Pleas pray that this will be an option for us. It would mean one of us getting back to Katie, Andy, and Olivia almost 3 weeks ahead!

Pictures below - acting goofy at the restaurant with Andei and interview with Coca-Cola's new spokesperson.

The good news is that we have heard back from the officials in Kiev that our paperwork is in good order and they’ll have it approved by this Friday, which is required in order to get a court date set. The bad news is that even though we could have the court hearing immediately after this or on the 15^th as we had heard earlier – the judge will now only hold court for adoptions this month on the 28^th. Our facilitator went to visit him in person today and was practically thrown out. The judge is a butthead (based on our limited experience).

We’ll continue to pray and ask for prayers that when our approved paperwork reaches the judge’s office next week, he’ll have a change of heart or some other miracle and move up our date. If we were not separated from Katie, Andy, and Olivia - our hearts would not be so torn apart over this. We will probably both need to stay for the duration since the date could be pushed up. Another adopting couple’s facilitator came in after our facilitator and was physically removed by the judge from his office. The system is under more scrutiny now – so even offers of above-the-board gifts or "expediting fees" would not be entertained by the judge. By law the judge has to see us within 30 days of our approved paperwork and he is complying with that law. We are concerned that additional lobbying or pleas to the judge and his office will only make it more difficult for families that follow and us as well – so we are just going to pray, hope, and be patient (this is Chad typing – Wendy is ready to TP the judge’s place of residence…as a start). Hey, its gonna happen (the adoption – not the vandalism) – just not as quick as we thought it might. Another couple (Gail and Mike) that just completed adoption here recently was in country for 59 days and it looks like that about where we will land (come home around 20 March).

While our facilitator was busy getting dissed by the judge, Andrei took the bus to come to our apartment and escorted us by electric cable car back to the orphanage today (after a visit to the McDonalds). Andrei and I went through some of the English phonics workbooks that Wendy brought and we sat in on Katya’s dance class.

Prayer needs: 1) Judge-court date situation; 2) Katya had some troubles breathing while we were there – like she couldn’t take in a deep breath – we think she is very anxious about the adoption getting approved/finalized; 3) My (Chad) business partner, Don Jenkins, and employees who are covering for me while I’m gone; 4) Katie, Andy, and Olivia – they need to petted and loved on by friends and family while we are gone – Katie has had to take on a lot of responsibility – Wendy and I miss them so bad it hurts. We also have a huge praise! Andrei has started calling us Mom and Dad and when Wendy told him "I love you" yesterday, he said it back to her for the first time!!

Thanks for all of the prayers and support!

love,

Chad and Wendy

(Chad here) We went to the zoo today, but only saw a "big hairy pig" that was previously described by Katya and Andrei to help sell us on taking a trip to the zoo. We were not disappointed. He wanders around on his own, working the crowd for photo ops in turn for handouts or a good scratchin'. I think there may have been more animals, but we didn't see the whole zoo/park. We did have excellent sis kabobs, which we also named the big hairy pig (Bob for short) - the kids thought that was very funny. We also took a family picture here (minus Katie, Andy, Olivia) so we could print and have ready to show the judge at our appearance - it has to be turned in with our paper work. Our paperwork from the city orphanage inspector and the orphanage director was sent to Sergiy #1 back in Kiev yesterday via train. It will be turned into Kiev officials tomorrow (Monday). They have 5 working days to get it processed. Then the court/judge here can set a date for our appearance. We are hearing that our court appearance may be the 15th. From the process described above, the earliest it could happen would be around 12th of February - so the 15th ain't that bad. Then comes the 10 day waiting period and then the trip back to Kiev to finish up with US Embassy and come home.

Pictures below are our family picture for paper work, Andrei's room, and Katya with "Sis KaBob - the big hairy pig"

Test 1 - First morning in Sevastopol and we meet again!

Not much to report since yesterday. We had a good visit with the kiddos. We are enjoying getting to know them. They are going to fit right into our family! They have so much in common with all of us that it is amazing!

They are trying really hard with to learn more English. We are thrilled about that! Chad and I have learned a few Russian words, but it is really hard! The kids are doing much better than we are. We did some phonics work books and they did really well. Katya asks to do them every day.

Katie and Andy got to talk to Katya and Andrei on the phone today using skype so they got to see each other as well. That was really neat. Olivia was on a field trip so hopefully she can talk to them tomorrow. They also got to talk to one set of grandparents. That was really special for them. Skype is a huge blessing for travelers. I recommend it for anyone who has to be away from home much.

The last of the paper work was finished today. Monday it has to be submitted to the court for us to get a court date. After that, they have 5 working days to tell us our court date. We pray they tell us the same day and that it will be sooner than expected. It could be up to 2 months away, but that hardly ever happens. We’ve heard that this judge only does adoptions on the 6^th. If that is the case, which our facilitators aren’t sure about,

then we will be right in time for this month’s cases. (Today we also heard the 15th is the only day he will do them. We pray it is sooner than that!) After court there is a 10 day waiting period and then several loose ends that have to be finished before we can come home. We have to get Andrei Michael a different kind of visa or something, take him off of the military draft, and a couple of other things that will probably take about a week to get done. Then we will fly back to Keiv and take the kids to the doctor and then go to the US embassy to get the last of their paper work and then fly home. We can get everything done in Keiv in 2 – 3 days. We have flight reservations for Feb 25 (we think). Our prayer is that we get done in time to make that flight and not have to pay the fees to change our tickets. Please pray that it is all done in time for our scheduled flight home.

Also, please pray for Katie and Andrei. They both have colds and really feeling pretty crummy. They aren’t even in the same house yet and seems they are sharing germs!

Thanks for all of the prayers and encouragement! It is wonderful to hear from everyone! Until next time…

Love, Wendy and Chad

I uploaded pics of our first meeting into a photo album on here. I hope it makes a link on my page to my album. I have to save megabytes to talk to the kids in TN so I only put up a few. I'm not sure how it works, but you pay for your megabytes before you use them, so we are afraid if we put up too many pics we won't have enough space left to call the kids. Weird, huh?

hopefully you can view the pics! enjoy!

Wendy

Sorry for the delay in posting. (I know some grandparents are standing on their ear with worry!) We weren’t been able to get the internet in our new apt to work until this AM, (Thursday) and we haven’t had time to go to an internet café. (We got to stop at one late Tuesday night, but they ran us out b/c people had the computers reserved and we didn’t have time to post.) We have had a busy week! Here is what has happened so far…

We arrived in Sevestopol on Sunday evening after a 1.5 hr flight on a Ukrainian airline and then a 2 hr drive (in the icy rain and/or snow) in some kind of 1986 little car. Our new apartment building doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the actual 2-bedroom apartment is OK. (no living room) We share the apartment with our other facilitator, Sergiy #2. He is very nice and has a super can-do attitude. On Monday we accomplished visiting the local orphanage inspector, which we had to do prior to visiting the orphanage and kids. She was very helpful and Sergiy #2 was able to get paperwork worked through a notary that afternoon. The inspector also rode with us and allowed the first meeting with the orphanage director later on Monday. And then, we got to meet the kids! The inspector interviewed them in front of us and the both verbally agreed to the adoption (important step in moving forward). We stayed until 8pm or so hanging out with Katya and Andrei. We shared pictures and played some volley ball in the freezing cold. We had so much fun with them! Katya had a music class and dance practice. We got to sit in on that. She even sang a solo for our video camera. She is very talented!!! All of the girls loved watching the play back of her performance. The little ones, ages 3, 4 and 7 were mesmerized to see Katya on the little screen of our camcorder. They all adore her. She will be missed very much when she leaves. She will miss them, too. She loves little kids. She will do great with all of her new cousins!

Tuesday we took more papers from the orphanage back to the notary. Sergiy #2 is really on the ball and moving things quickly with the cooperation of the local inspector and orphanage director. The orphanage director allowed us to take the Katya out from 4-6pm – we went to McDonalds, her choice. We tried an internet café so she could talk to the kids on the skype account, but we couldn’t find one where we could hook our computer up.  Andrei was out visiting his girlfriend and was back at the orphanage when we returned with Katya. It was a great visit with them!

 We hope to be able to take them again tomorrow. Katya asked to go somewhere with us and study English!! YEAH!! Andrei has asked for a book to study as well. I told him we would try to find him one here, but that we have some at home waiting for them.  Saturday we plan on taking them to a new recreation center they have here. Andrei is very proud that he helped to build it this summer. They have ice skating, bowling and pool (billiards.) I don’t know what else they have. I would imagine an arcade, but I’m not sure. They kids are so excited. Andrei asked if his girl friend can come. (They had a day planned already. It’s a special day for them, their 3 month anniversary …ah, young love!) We agreed, so we can spend some fun time with them without everyone else around at the orphanage. It will be interesting.

We have found out that Katya is a nickname for Katarina. She has chosen Elizabeth for her middle name. She came up with it on her own and I love it. She says we can call her Elizabeth, but we will see. I love Katarina, too. Andrei has chosen Michael. (I think he had some help with that from his girl friend, Marina.)

We took Marina with us yesterday and he is so sweet with her (and Katya), holding the door, always letting her go first, etc. Very chivalrous. He does the same for me. He holds doors, helps me out of the car, helps me with my coat. He is quite the gentlemen. I would think it was an act, except that he never forgets and he is so tender with Marina. He seems to care so much about her that i am surprised he agreed to be adopted and leave her.

Katya is the sweetest thing! We took them for pizza and ice skating yesterday and she had a blast. It was her first time and she was so excited! It was fun just watching her. I have video and photos. We can't wait to show them to everyone. (Maybe we can figure out how to put them on this blog at some point!) She had to sit on Chad's lap in the car. She was so sweet. touching face parts and learning new words "ears" , “eyebrows,"  etc. She was saying her ABC's and counting. She is doing really well with her English! Andrei is, too. He understands most of what we say, but is afraid to try to say much on his yet. He says some and it is easy to understand. I think he knows more than he thinks he does.

All is going beautifully! We have missed talking to our kiddos at home and look forward to doing that today now that we can use our computer again and talk for free. Pray for them and for us b/c it is really hard being apart.

Love, Wendy and Chad

WOO – HOO!!!!

Our appointment is over!!! After being nervous this morning, (our facilitator was caught in traffic and we were afraid we were going to be late,) the appt was quick and painless! The lady’s were very sweet and thankful we were adopting older children. The info we got about the kids past is that the mother (who was single) had the children taken from her in 2004 b/c of neglect and there is no info on the father. No other family is listed in their files. We will get our referral from them tomorrow. We just made flight arrangements to travel to their city on Sunday. We will have a meeting with the regional director on Monday morning and hopefully see the kids when they get out of school. It is going to be a long weekend waiting to see them, but we are so excited to be so close!

Thanks for all of the prayers! God is so amazing how He is working it all out!

Love,

Wendy and Chad