Turkish Coffee and Wedding Rings

We have officially started counting down until the date of our court hearing. Twelve more days...

We've spent time with the kid every day and our hearts grow bigger and bigger with love for him. He learned 31, which is an old Cholosky favourite (Jen's mom's side), we play checkers (although the kid clearly needs to learn Canadian rules:)) and have spent a little time teaching english as well.

We go to the outdoor market everyday, and find something new every time. The market is so big that we honestly get lost in all that the market has to offer. Yesterday we found a Turkish coffee pot and grinder, which we snapped up as it won't be there tomorrow, and bought some Turkish coffee. They drink quite a bit of it here and a lot of the market findings are from Turkey. We've spent the last two days trying to master a good cup of Turkish coffee. (It is not easy to do!)

Not only have we been trying to master Turkish coffee, we've been turning our apartment upside down as Jen has lost her wedding band. It's been a tough couple of days of searching, but Jen is confident that it is gone. She hopes that someone will give it a good home:)

It is the kid's birthday tomorrow and we found some fun gifts for him. Jen's favourite is the "new" game 'Twister', but this Twister has a twist. It's called "Super Twister" as you can use your whole body OR.... you can play hand twister!!! Jen is giddy with excitement to play the hand version;) ;)

That is the small update for now, not much new here, although it is scorching hot with temperatures in the 26-30 degree range. Jen is melting. But not complaining too much as we hear back home people have turned the heat on.

Please feel free to email us if you want, we love getting word back from home:)

Dave, Jen and the kid.

We buy our berries from this stand

Fresh herbs if one wants

Sporty Mike and Dream Wedding Suzy

Turkish Coffee Experience

Ismail

We've been here in Izmail, a town south of Odessa right on the Romanian border, for three days or so. Following a successful appointment (which went longer than intended due to some things that needed to be figured out) and choosing our child, we were quickly packed and on the road. It's been so busy that we don't really know how long its actually been. 

Thankfully birthdays can at least help us keep track of what day it is. Happy Birthday to Mom Courtney and sister Kristie! Sorry we can't be there to celebrate you, but I'm sure you understand:) There is a present on the way!

We know that many of you have been waiting to hear an update, and we are very excited to announce that we have been visiting a 12 year old boy. We know that he is a bit older than many expected, but after falling in love with his picture and his story, and then ultimately now with the person, we feel extremely blessed to find ourselves here in this young boys life. It is interesting that as we went through the files, his picture was the first one that we picked up, and Dave ended up holding his picture on his lap the entire time. In the end what we thought would be the most difficult choice to make was perhaps the easiest. There have been more than a few people along the way that have remarked on how much this boy looks like Dave :)

A quick snapshot of our first three days. We travelled to Izmail overnight, went straight to the orphanage in the morning to meet our boy, left the following day back to Kiev for his  immigration medical, and returned to Izmail all within 30 plus hours (22 of which we were driving). We are still recovering! We are pleased to say that everything has been going very well so far. 

Here are our next steps:

1. Court hearing on September 23, 2014

2. mandatory 10 day waiting period for family to contest the adoption

3. Processing of birth certificate, visa and passport'

4. Flights home

If we can be honest, as we have been thrown into a world of unknowns, and as we attempt to now settle in to a bit of a "quieter" routine, its safe to say that it has taken a toll on us. Today we felt slightly homesick. We miss our pups dearly. Some difficult distractions at home have been making it difficult to fully immerse ourselves in the "here and now" of building a relationship with our child. Continued prayer for strength and patience would be greatly appreciated. 

A part of the challenge of Ismail is that everyone speaks Russian (good thing we took all of those Ukrainian classes :)). Thankfully we met the owner of the apartment today where we are staying, and he speaks english!! He took us out for a "good" cup of coffee. And it surprising how comforting it was to simply find a good cup of coffee (so far our experience with the coffee has been mediocre at best, even trending here in Izmail towards the "nes cafe" brand).

One of our daily routines has been (and is going to be) walking down the main street to the "Rynok" (huge outdoor market). It is a lot of fun. The lifestyle here is different. People go the market once a day or every two days to buy all of their food fresh, and then they come home and cook it all up. We purchased some fresh vegetables and fruit, and even some homemade yogurt that was to die for:). We are looking forward to buying the fresh cheese which is all made on the spot. 

This afternoon we took a challenge and rode the Izmail public transit (small compact busses) to the orphanage (to save money on the cab). That was interesting. On the way back it was a disco bus as the driver had some pretty groovy tunes blaring and some fun and flashy things hanging on the dash.

It has also been a fun experience getting to know the orphanage  The teachers and director there really love the children and are very protective of them. Although it is like a group home, to these kids it is home. Whenever a child receives something like a bracelet or candy it is shared with everyone. There was a 3L pop being passed around to several kids. We met several other children during our visits and have had a blast playing soccer (sorry... football) and "Go-Fish" with them. One girl in particular came and sat beside Jen, and we had so much fun. When we went back today, she made sure to wave and say hi before having to go elsewhere. We were taught a couple of card tricks by two boys today, and tried to learn a little Russian while also teaching a little English. All in all, it was not a bad day at all.

When it was time to say goodbye, we learned a couple new handshakes from three different boys and got some tight squeezes as we boarded the bus. It was tough to say goodbye today. But alas, tomorrow is another day, and we know there are many more ahead of us. So here is to another trip to the market, some more fresh meals, and another blessed visit at the orphanage:)

Dave and Jen

Up the River

It looks as though we've kept everyone on their toes regarding our appointment. Dave and I wanted to take some time to think over the events of the appointment as it ended up being more than an hour long (a couple of days actually). After working through some complications we are now moving forward. We are ok with that. We want to make sure that we are in line with the Ukrainian government and the Canadian government and their expectations with us, as well as spending time praying through this difficult process.

Due to confidentiality reasons we cannot give specifics to the past few days, but we can say with hopeful hearts that we will be travelling to the Odessa region to a small city called Izmail on the border of Ukraine and Romania. We will likely leave on Sunday or Monday. There we will have the opportunity to meet an orphanage director and a child. We feel hopeful, and we are anticipating the next step in the journey of a bigger process.

Today is Saturday, and to occupy our minds in the meantime Dave and I ventured out on the boat tour of The Dnipro River. It offered lovely views of the lower Lavra and the Mother Motherland Statue. After the boat ride, we took the Funicular up to St. Michael's cathedral where we were only a short walk to our apartment. Tonight we plan to visit the Presidential Palace, lovers "bridge", and the park. We might even be able to catch a puppet show.

I have really enjoyed exploring Kyiv. It is a city of about 2 000 000 people (registered) and unofficially 10 000 000 people that actually reside. The subways and trolley buses are easy to navigate, and there is always a store close by that you might need (like a mini supermarket, a shoe or dress shop, currency exchange booth, or even nylons and a smoke shop) can be purchased on your way to the subway underground. Okay, the smoke shop is for all the people that smoke over here (which is the vast majority it would seem). But suffice to say that one can easily get lost in what is a never ending underground maze.

Dave disagrees with me, but I think the coffee is very do-able, I have a cappuccino every day (except for today, but the day is still young) and at least two pieces of Roshen Chocolate. We are in agreement that Roshen chocolate will be coming home with us:)

So what can people pray for? 1. Current situation of Ukraine. For every time you see a step forward it seems to take another step back. I myself have not fully grasped the concept of what it must be like to feel like you are losing parts of your homeland and nationality.

2. Safety for Dave and I as we continue to travel to Izmail and for the next steps at the orphanage.

3. Our home and pups (Yes, Matt too:))

4. Discernment.


Photos

 The escalator going to down... way down. (Although the picture looks like we're going up)

                                                                        Found it!

                                           People park their expensive cars on the sidewalk.

 We went to the Pharmacy museum... creepy. They had separate rooms in the basement for witchcraft.

                                                         Lviv Chocolate shop... again.

                                              I guess breakfast gets lost in the translation....

                          One of only a small handful of certified gluten free foods here in Ukraine.

                                                The Lower Lavra from the Dnipro River
                                                (The saints are buried here in the caves)

       

                      Funicular up to St. Michael's Cathedral and only a few minutes from our apartment. It cost 12 cents per person to ride.

Limbo

It's almost 8 pm and we are just making supper here at our apartment.

We met with our contact yesterday at a place called Coffee-Time in Independence Square where she briefed us on the events that will take place the day of our appointment. She asked if we were afraid, and we responded no. There has not been any fear since our arrival. Not for our safety nor for the adoption process.  I think we were very distracted as we arrived a few days before and took full advantage of the time to explore and experience Kyiv. The city has treated us well, and although there is a definite language barrier, the people have been gracious to us and have helped us along the way.


We did a tour of The Lavra which is where the first settlement of monks lived and prayed in Ukraine. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) The churches and bell towers are scattered over 28 acres of land and have underground caves that now house the dead saints. These saints were monks who lived and prayed in these caves. Some were from wealth, some were from poverty. All here to pray to God. Each saint interceded God's power through many different kinds of miracles. From bone ailments and diseases, labourers and work related issues, to marriage and even a baby saint whose name was John. He helped people with fertility trouble and those that were blessed by him all gave birth to sons. I must admit, that when our guide shared that information, I became a bit emotional. I have learned on this trip that I have not completely dealt with the loss of being pregnant. Our journey has brought us here to Ukraine to fill that void in a completely different way, and I am now beginning to feel freedom from that.


After the first part of our appointment, we headed for lunch to which I had Borscht, Greek Salad and Beet Bruschetta. Amazing. And all for 6 bucks! Dave had breakfast:)

We cannot speak to events regarding our appointment, but can say that we are waiting. Yes, we've been waiting for a couple of years, and the wait continues as we are surrounded by different scenery.

I will say that our contacts here have been amazing and God provided. "I and I" have both made sure to tell us that they are not just placing a child with a couple and sending them back to their home country. They are helping us find OUR child/ren. To know that these two women are fighting for us has brought us great comfort here. One of the ladies stated, "I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to have to choose a child like this, but let me tell you that these children will find a home and we will find your child."

It was a feeling of complete devastation and despair looking through the files. Girls and boys being passed over due to their age or to some sort of illness. Our hearts broke for each one. They have been added to our list of prayers for them to find loving and caring parents.

As each day passes here, my heart grows bigger and bigger for this country and its people. We walked through Independence Square and I felt a peace. A peace knowing that we are in the right place to complete our family.

Jen.

Dave just outside the office where our appointment will take place.

We are outside St. Soffiivska Square waiting to meet our contacts to take us to the SDA office.

Post appointment stress relief. We went to the Ukrainian President's Chocolate Shop. Holy Moses, it was delicious!

For mor pics and updates, check out Facebook:)

Arrived

It's Monday morning here in Kyiv. Two days to go before we head to the SDA office.

We spent most of yesterday sightseeing and celebrating with the Ukrainians as it was their Independence Day. It was a very special Independence Day as Ukraine continues to fight for its people and freedom. Everyone was wearing something that signifies their patriotism to their country. And I'm sad to say, Ukraine shames Canada when it comes to this. Even the dogs were dressed in celebratory clothes. The people here love their country and have and will continue to protect it. I myself as a Canadian, am learning just exactly what this means and I do hope to change my attitude.

Dave and I walked through Independence Square where destruction once was only a short while ago. There are some remnants of the Maidan war that took many, many lives in their fight for freedom. We walked past several people who wept on the street for those that did so in the name of freedom for Ukraine. I was honestly moved by their love and pride for their people and country.

I am blessed and I have taken it for granted.


We met briefly with one of our main contacts here yesterday. "I" was very friendly and we look forward to working with her. She encouraged us to go out and explore Kyiv and explore we did. Dave and I rode our first Ukrainian subway to the Dnipro River, visited St. Sofiska Cathedral and took in the grounds. We walked down "Art Alley" (I think that was the coined name) where local artists display their work for what seems to be a half a mile long down the street. I hope to bring home some pieces, I just need to find a way to bring it home.

We then hopped the trolley back to our flat. Our place is in Independence Square which has been great as everything is within reach including the SDA office.

I think we are going to explore St. Andrews Cathedral and surrounding area today and as per usual, grab a kava.

                                                                  The Dnipro River

                                                                St. Sofiska Cathedral

                                                               

Independence Square during the parade

T'was the Night Before....

Dave and Charlie are cuddled on the couch for one last cuddle session before we leave. It's only a few short hours before we begin our journey to Ukraine and emotions are running high. The thought of having to leave my puppies for two months brings me to tears... a lot of tears.
Bags are packed and lists have been checked, double checked and rechecked. Probably a couple more Facebook posts before we take off, but other than that, we are ready to go.


It's amazing and mind blowing to think that after almost ten years of marriage, we will go away on a cross world tour and return home with a child or two. My mind still can't grasp it, but my heart is ready. I am ready to start a family with new adventures. Although the journey from where we started to now has been an unexpected and spontaneous ride, our hearts are ready to take on the new challenge of finding "the one" (or two).


We have been so blessed during this time that words cannot express. The love and support that has poured in from so many people has been overwhelming. The unexpected strangers like the RBC teller who shed tears of gratefulness that someone is "doing something good,"  the MPI agent who was moved by tears when we explained why we wanted lay up insurance on our car, to the soon-to-be grandparents who have prayed day and night for the new grandchild(ren), to the extended family who wish us nothing but future happiness friends, coworkers, bosses, HR support (Joanne, you rock!) who have moved mountains, completed forms, set up accounts and cleaned dust bunnies for us, we love you and thank you for all you have done.

Only 5.5 hours...

Forging Ahead

As I sit here in my humble home surrounded by chaos, I need to take the time to reflect on the past two days. It is just now that I have had the opportunity to sit and reflect and hopefully grasp what lies ahead for Dave and I.

On Wednesday, after a lovely visit in Kildonan Park with good friends, we received the email we've been waiting for for what seems like a life time:

             "Congratulations Dave and Jen! You have an appointment scheduled with the SDA (Social Department of Adoption) on August 27th, 2014. Please begin to make the necessary arrangements..."  Wait! August 27th?!? We have a little under two weeks to prepare for the next biggest decision of our lives?!?

The next five minutes were frantic calls to parents, family and close friends, not to mention patient employers who have graciously waited with us. Next came the flood of questions for which today we still have no answers.

We can say that we are leaving between August 20th and August 24th. Our appointment is on August 27th at 11:00 a.m. (Ukrainian time)

Travel plans are under way, currency is being exchanged, dogsitter finalized (Thank you Matt:)) and unfortunately, we've had to cancel a much anticipated road trip with two great friends, Kim and Kevin. Sorry we can't be with you, we were very much looking forward to spending time and traveling with you guys.


There are many unknowns.

In less than two weeks we will be sorting through files of potential sons and daughters. What is most unfortunate is that we have not been able to focus yet on the true reason as to why we are going through this process, parenthood. Life changing, marriage changing, parenthood. We have not been able to embrace and encourage each other as we enter into the labour stage of our adoption, until this very moment. What type of mother am I going to be? A fun mom, or a mom whose worry takes the place of fun? What kind of father will Dave be? How do we plan for a child whose age range falls between 2 and 14? What kind of books do we buy? Russian, English, Ukrianian? How do we teach our child(ren) grace and love and the value of self sacrifice? How do we (and what does it mean to) impart our love of God to a child who may or may not know God in their own life? How do I love a child who may not understand how to love us back as quickly?


My hope is that when I hear of a mother and father holding their new born for the first time, and see that love immediately takes over and is imparted automatically between parent and child, that this will happen for Dave and I. But the reality is, it could take a really long time. This is a part of the process, or so we have been told in the hours of educating seminars and conversations that we have had with the agency. Returning home is going to be a lot of work, this is certain. But for the time being, let's just get to the Ukraine. It is surprising just how unprepared you feel when over two years of waiting comes down to two weeks notice. The past two days have been an exercise in how to prepare for two months of travel in 5 days. More to come as our travel story continues to unravel...


What can people pray for?

1. First and foremost, safety

2. the current situation of Ukraine

3. Discernment during the child selection process which starts on August 27th at 11:00 (once again, Ukrainian time). We have exactly one hour to go through all the files that meet our parameters and to decide on which child(ren) to see at the orphanage

4. Finances, we will be away for two months without any income coming in from either of our jobs

5. Matt and the dogs, it's going to be a long time for them:), and one of the hardest part of this journey will be leaving our babies behind for two months.