Ok all you prayer warriors, we need your prayers for lots of different things!
1) Jake's grandmother might be having a surgery this week. Without going into too many details, she could use some prayer for Divine intervention and for all that goes along with having this surgery.
2.) My dad's having some problems and has been back in and out of the hospital the last couple of days. Again, without too many details, please just pray that the Dr's would have wisdom, do what needs to be done, and that Dad would be as pain free as possible.
3.) Diane is probably driving up to see her mom on Wednesday and is helping juggle the girls before she goes, working and trying to get herself ready to go out of town. Pray for her strength through the next few days!
4.) My mom has got her own medical issues on top of taking care of Dad, work and the girls. Please pray for endurance for this week as well.
5.) The girls are doing great and have truly been covered by the Lord while we have been gone, but please continue to lift them up. That their little hearts would be sealed and that they would not be anxious for anything but know that they are safe and Mommy and Daddy are coming home soon.
6.) Pray for Pavel Micah as we have our last two days with him. Pray that he would not be confused that we aren't there anymore but that the time would go quickly. That God would speak to him and he would know that we are coming back for him soon.
7.) We are hoping and praying to leave Odesa on Monday night, take a small flight to Kiev, and then fly out from there early Tuesday morning, so please pray for our safety for all of those flights.
8.) Please pray for court on Monday. We expect that it will go quickly, but it IS a holiday so we're praying it doesn't get bumped. Especially because the judge will be out of town the rest of that week. Things move pretty quickly for adoptions of children with special needs, and we have an awesome team working for us, but nonetheless. We need prayer! We need to get home to our babies.
9.) Pray that the paperwork all plays out smoothly. Its a little difficult that I'm not coming back after court appeals are over, and we need to be sure to have all paperwork layed out correctly before we go. Pray specifically that nothing is overlooked and that everything that needs to be done, signed, notarized, etc. gets done.
Thank you all so much. I'm actually tearing up right now knowing what an amazing group of people are going to be reading this and that you all WILL pray. I can't thank you enough. What would we do without you?
Just for fun
The other day I tried to catch our little greeting on video. This is what we see every single day, twice a day. And his joy to see us only gets bigger and bigger, like we're long lost friends of his. :) We are truly BLESSED that he has connected with us so well... after this part we take him outside and for the first 5 or 10 minutes we're there he just holds Jake close and smiles that big smile as if to say "I've missed you so much... since lunchtime!" :)
Court date!!!
We just found out tonight that our court is set for Monday at noon!!! I'm so excited right now!!!
Our translator and her husband invited us to their house for dinner tonight with another adopting family... and it was such a nice evening! They were such sweet people and the food was wonderful! So nice to get a cook home cooked meal- she had sausages and potatoes with salad and bread. And we had ice cream and fruit for desert. They shared about their ministries here and we shared a lot about our youth ministry at home. These people have such a big heart for orphans and even just for the poor children of their community. And it was fun to get to know this other family- Marsha and she had four of her kids with her... her husband is back in the states with their other children for a bit. Her kids were all so well behaved and sweet... we were very impressed. :) And they are Texans! So they've GOT to be good people. ;) Anyway, we were so glad to be there especially since we weren't able to make it to our last dinner invitation from Marsha. Alyona and her husband walked us home and helped us with some little details that needed worked out (like they installed a new door on our apartment building so now we can't get in without a code which we don't know and couldn't find out because we don't speak Russian... stuff like that :)) They are such a sweet couple and I wish we could spend more time with them; I could see us all being very good friends.
So PRAISE THE LORD for our court date... only two more Groundhog Days left! :) And Monday is National Children's Day so the children at the orphanage are doing a performance which the director invited us to, at 10am. We still aren't sure if Pavel Micah is in it yet or not, but nonetheless we are looking forward to seeing this little play and then heading to court. I will try to tape as much of the performance as I can, and if so, I'll post it. But for now, please pray for Monday!!!
Our translator and her husband invited us to their house for dinner tonight with another adopting family... and it was such a nice evening! They were such sweet people and the food was wonderful! So nice to get a cook home cooked meal- she had sausages and potatoes with salad and bread. And we had ice cream and fruit for desert. They shared about their ministries here and we shared a lot about our youth ministry at home. These people have such a big heart for orphans and even just for the poor children of their community. And it was fun to get to know this other family- Marsha and she had four of her kids with her... her husband is back in the states with their other children for a bit. Her kids were all so well behaved and sweet... we were very impressed. :) And they are Texans! So they've GOT to be good people. ;) Anyway, we were so glad to be there especially since we weren't able to make it to our last dinner invitation from Marsha. Alyona and her husband walked us home and helped us with some little details that needed worked out (like they installed a new door on our apartment building so now we can't get in without a code which we don't know and couldn't find out because we don't speak Russian... stuff like that :)) They are such a sweet couple and I wish we could spend more time with them; I could see us all being very good friends.
So PRAISE THE LORD for our court date... only two more Groundhog Days left! :) And Monday is National Children's Day so the children at the orphanage are doing a performance which the director invited us to, at 10am. We still aren't sure if Pavel Micah is in it yet or not, but nonetheless we are looking forward to seeing this little play and then heading to court. I will try to tape as much of the performance as I can, and if so, I'll post it. But for now, please pray for Monday!!!
He knows.
Well, today is another beach day for Pavel Micah so we have no plans and not much to do until 4:00. I just finished a bowl of cheerios that we bought at the store last night and even though the milk came in a carton that was not previously COLD which was a little concerning... it was actually pretty good. :) Jake is sleeping in (I know, who Jake?! lol) and I'm sitting here checking email and reading blogs and reflecting on our lives at the moment. I am IN Ukraine. Adopting. I'm 26. And I'm pregnant. With our FOURTH daughter. My mom said in an email the other day not to worry about the kids at home, just to worry about my two babies here. :) And it really hit me- two of my FIVE kids are right here with me. I don't know either of them very well yet, but they are both IN my heart every bit as much as my other three.
Part of me wonders, "how did I get here?". And the other part laughs because its a silly question. The Lord has brought us here. HE CHOSE Pavel for us. He chose every one of our kids. He knew Ashley long before we were in the delivery room thinking I was about to give birth to a Jordan Elliot. He knew. And He knew Emily long before we brought her home and that little peanut STOLE my heart and I was immediately wrapped around her little finger forever. He knew. :) He knew that Abby had three chromosomes long before WE knew we'd have three kids in 4 years. He knew it would rock my world and I'd learn things and meet people and go places I never would have otherwise. He knew. He knew that when I was 37 weeks pregnant with Emily a little boy was born on the other side of the world who's mommy would give him up because SHE didn't know and that almost exactly four years later, he would become a Spencer. He knew. He knew that this baby in my womb was coming and was a girl long before we signed up to adopt two little boys with Ds.
I love that my life is in His hands. May it never be any other way. And its because I know that He knows... that I have faith, that I have strength, that I TRUST that everything is working out according to His purpose.
I still don't know a court date. I still don't know what we're going to call Pavel. I still don't know what we're going to name this baby. I still don't know when we're coming home. I still don't know if this whole adoption is going to fall through. I still don't really know if this baby has Ds too. I don't know if my kids will follow Christ as adults and I don't know if I'm guarentee'd tomorrow.
But He knows. :) And you know what? That's enough for me.
Part of me wonders, "how did I get here?". And the other part laughs because its a silly question. The Lord has brought us here. HE CHOSE Pavel for us. He chose every one of our kids. He knew Ashley long before we were in the delivery room thinking I was about to give birth to a Jordan Elliot. He knew. And He knew Emily long before we brought her home and that little peanut STOLE my heart and I was immediately wrapped around her little finger forever. He knew. :) He knew that Abby had three chromosomes long before WE knew we'd have three kids in 4 years. He knew it would rock my world and I'd learn things and meet people and go places I never would have otherwise. He knew. He knew that when I was 37 weeks pregnant with Emily a little boy was born on the other side of the world who's mommy would give him up because SHE didn't know and that almost exactly four years later, he would become a Spencer. He knew. He knew that this baby in my womb was coming and was a girl long before we signed up to adopt two little boys with Ds.
I love that my life is in His hands. May it never be any other way. And its because I know that He knows... that I have faith, that I have strength, that I TRUST that everything is working out according to His purpose.
I still don't know a court date. I still don't know what we're going to call Pavel. I still don't know what we're going to name this baby. I still don't know when we're coming home. I still don't know if this whole adoption is going to fall through. I still don't really know if this baby has Ds too. I don't know if my kids will follow Christ as adults and I don't know if I'm guarentee'd tomorrow.
But He knows. :) And you know what? That's enough for me.
Downtown Odesa
We had such a fun time downtown yesterday. Its true what my RR friends say about the orphanage visits... they are truly like the movie "Groundhog Day". Every day is the same. Its almost freaky.
But a little walking around and sightseeing in this part of town did us good. We had some good food, enjoyed walking around and people watching, doing a little shopping, and touring some sights. We went to the Wax museum, walked through the Archaeological museum, walked the long pier thingy to the Black Sea (though this area wasn't beaches, it was all ports and boats and boy stuff. :)) And we saw the famous Potemkin Stairs, lots of statues, and many many street vendors. I had my first experience with a Turkish Toilet (aka Squatty Potty). Yikes.
There was even this one area that had all these cute little old men having some sort of chess and domino's tournament! My Papaw would have LOVED it! :)
Odesa has TONS of beautiful gardens and fountains and parks. (One would be PERFECT for weddings... Jodie, you and I could make a lot of money here! :)) And lots of upscale shops and outdoor cafe's. This was such a fun city, we both said we would come down here all the time if we lived here. It was such a nice little get away for both of us. WE {HEART} ODESA! :)
But a little walking around and sightseeing in this part of town did us good. We had some good food, enjoyed walking around and people watching, doing a little shopping, and touring some sights. We went to the Wax museum, walked through the Archaeological museum, walked the long pier thingy to the Black Sea (though this area wasn't beaches, it was all ports and boats and boy stuff. :)) And we saw the famous Potemkin Stairs, lots of statues, and many many street vendors. I had my first experience with a Turkish Toilet (aka Squatty Potty). Yikes.
There was even this one area that had all these cute little old men having some sort of chess and domino's tournament! My Papaw would have LOVED it! :)
Odesa has TONS of beautiful gardens and fountains and parks. (One would be PERFECT for weddings... Jodie, you and I could make a lot of money here! :)) And lots of upscale shops and outdoor cafe's. This was such a fun city, we both said we would come down here all the time if we lived here. It was such a nice little get away for both of us. WE {HEART} ODESA! :)
Some Mommy Love
Not much new to update. We still don't have a court date and are kinda frustrated we haven't heard anything yet. Please pray we get one soon. We're so ready to move to the next step in this process.
Since today was Pavel Micah's (I guess that's what we'll call him for now :)) beach day, we took the opportunity to walk around downtown Odesa. (But that's another post... we had a great time, had some good food and saw some fun sights. I'll post pictures tomorrow.)
But today I wanted to share some pics of me and my little boy. We've had a few sweet bonding moments the last couple of days... He's figured out that its really fun when Mommy holds you close and gives kisses and sings. :) But thats what Mommy's are for. I've been singing the "So let the sun shine in, face it with a grin..." song and he really likes it. :) He smiles so big when I hold him and sing it.
He played around a bigger group of kids today while we were on the playground, and seeing him next to some of those boys put in perspective for me what a little guy he really still is. He looked so "baby" pushing around on his car while they zoomed around him on bikes. It made my heart pull to him even more and you know, I don't NEED anymore reasons to be head over heals for this kid!!
Tomorrow I'll try to have some pics from our sightseeing day.
Since today was Pavel Micah's (I guess that's what we'll call him for now :)) beach day, we took the opportunity to walk around downtown Odesa. (But that's another post... we had a great time, had some good food and saw some fun sights. I'll post pictures tomorrow.)
But today I wanted to share some pics of me and my little boy. We've had a few sweet bonding moments the last couple of days... He's figured out that its really fun when Mommy holds you close and gives kisses and sings. :) But thats what Mommy's are for. I've been singing the "So let the sun shine in, face it with a grin..." song and he really likes it. :) He smiles so big when I hold him and sing it.
He played around a bigger group of kids today while we were on the playground, and seeing him next to some of those boys put in perspective for me what a little guy he really still is. He looked so "baby" pushing around on his car while they zoomed around him on bikes. It made my heart pull to him even more and you know, I don't NEED anymore reasons to be head over heals for this kid!!
Tomorrow I'll try to have some pics from our sightseeing day.
Names
Though Pavel's new legal name has already been chosen and is on paper "Pavel Micah Spencer", we still are having a hard time deciding what to call him.
He doesn't really answer to anything. He is called such a wide array of names here. Mostly Barusah and Pasha, but a lot of times its some version of one of the two. I don't know if he's confused... or just too busy to respond (which is very possible :)) but in the few days that we've spent with him- he answers to NONE of them from us.
So basically we feel like we have an opportunity here to call him whatever we want. But we feel sort of torn... Pavel is how we've always known him, but now seeing him, he doesn't really feel like a Pavel. And I may have already said this, I don't remember, but in their language, Micah means T-shirt. So the people here think it's HILARIOUS that we are making his middle name Micah. We tried to explain that it is a book of the Bible, but they didn't really seem to get it or care. Just thought it was really funny. They kept saying "Michael?" and we would say, "No, MICAH" and they would look at each other and laugh. (Which... I guess I would too. :))
Being a 'special' kid, I want to make things as easy as possible for him. And if telling people his name is Pavel later as a bigger kid or adult causes people to say "what is it?" or "how do you spell that?" or causes any confusion at all, I would just as soon name him Micah. Pavel isn't exactly a common name. And I know if we called him Micah it would be a constant reminder to me of the mandate the Lord put in my heart to pursue this little boy on the other side of the world. But its also hard because I feel like our families, our friends, and mostly our KIDS know him as Pavel and to change that might be confusing.
So this is all just stuff we're talking about and thinking about. We haven't really made any final decisions yet, just kinda letting things play out and knowing that God knows what we will call him in the end. But I felt like I should address it on the blog because we've had a lot of people ask over time if we were going to change it.
We also have been trying to use all this spare time to think through a name for this little girl in my belly. :) Not having a ton of luck there either, but we do have a couple of thoughts that we're discussing. (Jake said last night that if we end up deciding on Micah, that we should call the baby "Jeans". Haha, very funny Babe. ;))
Seriously though, in the end, we just want to be sure that no matter what, we step out of the way and let God... well, just let God. :)
He doesn't really answer to anything. He is called such a wide array of names here. Mostly Barusah and Pasha, but a lot of times its some version of one of the two. I don't know if he's confused... or just too busy to respond (which is very possible :)) but in the few days that we've spent with him- he answers to NONE of them from us.
So basically we feel like we have an opportunity here to call him whatever we want. But we feel sort of torn... Pavel is how we've always known him, but now seeing him, he doesn't really feel like a Pavel. And I may have already said this, I don't remember, but in their language, Micah means T-shirt. So the people here think it's HILARIOUS that we are making his middle name Micah. We tried to explain that it is a book of the Bible, but they didn't really seem to get it or care. Just thought it was really funny. They kept saying "Michael?" and we would say, "No, MICAH" and they would look at each other and laugh. (Which... I guess I would too. :))
Being a 'special' kid, I want to make things as easy as possible for him. And if telling people his name is Pavel later as a bigger kid or adult causes people to say "what is it?" or "how do you spell that?" or causes any confusion at all, I would just as soon name him Micah. Pavel isn't exactly a common name. And I know if we called him Micah it would be a constant reminder to me of the mandate the Lord put in my heart to pursue this little boy on the other side of the world. But its also hard because I feel like our families, our friends, and mostly our KIDS know him as Pavel and to change that might be confusing.
So this is all just stuff we're talking about and thinking about. We haven't really made any final decisions yet, just kinda letting things play out and knowing that God knows what we will call him in the end. But I felt like I should address it on the blog because we've had a lot of people ask over time if we were going to change it.
We also have been trying to use all this spare time to think through a name for this little girl in my belly. :) Not having a ton of luck there either, but we do have a couple of thoughts that we're discussing. (Jake said last night that if we end up deciding on Micah, that we should call the baby "Jeans". Haha, very funny Babe. ;))
Seriously though, in the end, we just want to be sure that no matter what, we step out of the way and let God... well, just let God. :)
Lunch
This clip is from our first day here... we got to go in and watch for a few minutes as his group had lunch. You'll see his little buddy Max (who is being adopted soon, yay!!!) in the dark green shirt sitting there flirting with us as we wait for Pavel to get back from washing his hands. And then check out Pavel eat!!! That kid can go to town! We think it was some kind of potato, carrot, chicken stew stuff. We noticed a lot of the other kids didn't have bibs on, but he definitely utilized the one they put on him. :) You can also see his buddy Max "helping" him for a second, but the caregivers got onto him for it, so he stopped and "hid" in his bowl to laugh. :) We stopped recording before they were done, after this they had a whole second course which looked like a big ol' bowl of sweet potatoes. Pavel gobbled that up too of course. We shouldn't have a hard time getting this little guy to eat!
Anyway, thought this was a sweet little clip.
Anyway, thought this was a sweet little clip.
Notes
These are some (most actually) of the notes I took from the meeting with the orphanage on Wednesday. This was all interpreted to me, and very quickly. I was jotting down notes as quickly as I could, but wanted to type it all up while it was still fresh in my head. Some interesting (and some very sad) information, but I'm a details person, so I thought I would share. :)
Name: Borislov Pavel (last name first)
Birthdate: June 4, 2005
Birth mother born 1967, birth father born 1957
(We are still waiting to find out his birthweight, length and parent's nationality but we believe they were both full Ukrainian)
They were married, they did not know he had Ds until he was born at the maternity house. They were very upset and embarrassed. They blamed the doctors saying that they would have had an abortion if they had known. They told all family members that he died in the hospital. The mother showed no remorse and never came back to the hospital, but the father would stop by to drop off money for him (I'm assuming for his hospital bills). After a short while he stopped coming and their lawyer would drop the money off. They both signed papers to release him for adoption as soon as he was born. There is no contact info for either of them but only a phone number for their lawyer.
He was taken to Odesa Orphanage #3 at 4 months old and has been there ever since. He has been sick and hospitalized many times, fighting colds, the flu, bronchitis, laryngitis, pneumonia twice, and an ear infection in one ear. He has also had the chicken pox. When he was 12 months, he ran such a high fever in the hospital that he had a seizure but was tested and does not have epilepsy- it was an isolated event due to the fever. It was the only time he as ever seized. He was last hospitalized on Sept. 08 for a cold.
He was born with a small hole in his heart, known as an oval window, but was rechecked in Jan. 09 and the hole is much smaller. It is believed to be closing. He may be far sighted and is suggested to see an eye doctor before he turns five. He's had many vaccinations and was also tested for HIV, cyphalis (sp?), and hepatitis. All tests were negative.
They are saying he has dermatitis. They are systematically withholding different foods- currently apples, candy and any juices. He is on 4 different medications , oral and topical, to fix the problem. (Besides his rashy cheeks, Jake and I saw two different rashes today, one on his elbow and one on the back of his leg. Not sure about those but I have a good feeling some good, frequent face washings and some Aquafore will clear his cheeks right up. :))
He likes to play drums, can stack circles (those donut shaped toys on the stick) and knows many parts of the body. He follows basic instruction and though his speech development is delayed, he understands quite a bit.
That was about it. We shared pictures of the girls and the doctor was glad to see the picture of Abby with red, dry cheeks. I think this made her feel more confident that we know what we're dealing with and can handle it. :) They told us he is a sweet boy and well loved by all in the orphanage. Even the caregivers from other groups call out to him as we pass. During our visits, some who are off duty and are leaving for the day will come out to say goodbye to him before they go. I think they are all so happy he has found a family but are also sad to see him go. No doubt he has left an impression and this sweet little boy will not be soon forgotten.
Name: Borislov Pavel (last name first)
Birthdate: June 4, 2005
Birth mother born 1967, birth father born 1957
(We are still waiting to find out his birthweight, length and parent's nationality but we believe they were both full Ukrainian)
They were married, they did not know he had Ds until he was born at the maternity house. They were very upset and embarrassed. They blamed the doctors saying that they would have had an abortion if they had known. They told all family members that he died in the hospital. The mother showed no remorse and never came back to the hospital, but the father would stop by to drop off money for him (I'm assuming for his hospital bills). After a short while he stopped coming and their lawyer would drop the money off. They both signed papers to release him for adoption as soon as he was born. There is no contact info for either of them but only a phone number for their lawyer.
He was taken to Odesa Orphanage #3 at 4 months old and has been there ever since. He has been sick and hospitalized many times, fighting colds, the flu, bronchitis, laryngitis, pneumonia twice, and an ear infection in one ear. He has also had the chicken pox. When he was 12 months, he ran such a high fever in the hospital that he had a seizure but was tested and does not have epilepsy- it was an isolated event due to the fever. It was the only time he as ever seized. He was last hospitalized on Sept. 08 for a cold.
He was born with a small hole in his heart, known as an oval window, but was rechecked in Jan. 09 and the hole is much smaller. It is believed to be closing. He may be far sighted and is suggested to see an eye doctor before he turns five. He's had many vaccinations and was also tested for HIV, cyphalis (sp?), and hepatitis. All tests were negative.
They are saying he has dermatitis. They are systematically withholding different foods- currently apples, candy and any juices. He is on 4 different medications , oral and topical, to fix the problem. (Besides his rashy cheeks, Jake and I saw two different rashes today, one on his elbow and one on the back of his leg. Not sure about those but I have a good feeling some good, frequent face washings and some Aquafore will clear his cheeks right up. :))
He likes to play drums, can stack circles (those donut shaped toys on the stick) and knows many parts of the body. He follows basic instruction and though his speech development is delayed, he understands quite a bit.
That was about it. We shared pictures of the girls and the doctor was glad to see the picture of Abby with red, dry cheeks. I think this made her feel more confident that we know what we're dealing with and can handle it. :) They told us he is a sweet boy and well loved by all in the orphanage. Even the caregivers from other groups call out to him as we pass. During our visits, some who are off duty and are leaving for the day will come out to say goodbye to him before they go. I think they are all so happy he has found a family but are also sad to see him go. No doubt he has left an impression and this sweet little boy will not be soon forgotten.
Pipes and phones
***Update #2: We got our translator on the phone and they called out someone to fix our pipes. He's here now and is almost done. Its fixed! Yay, we have water again!***
***Update: We got our phone working, YAY!! Yulia emailed us right back and had the code to reactivate the other chip inside the phone. But by the time we fixed it, had our afternoon visit with Pavel, bought a REAL phone card, it was too late to get together with the other family for dinner. And we still don't have their number to say we aren't coming, so we hate that but... we tried. :( Also the man who sold us the phone card smiled at us when he heard us speak and in a Ukrainian accented english said "what city are you from in America?" We told him Nashville and he said "I'm from philadelphia"! So we talked for a second and he let us pay in Dollars which was awesome, and we told him we'd come back and see him if we needed another card on our trip. But PRAISE THE LORD our phone is back to normal!!!***
Today has been, um, interesting. :) We woke up this morning to a kitchen floor half flooded with water. The pipes under the kitchen sink have sprung a leak. We got one of the women who sit out front (there isn't exactly a 'front desk' here :)) to come look at it and tried to ask if we could get it fixed. Jake found the main knobby thingy that turns all the water OFF, but now we think she thinks that fixed it and we're not sure she's going to have anyone look at it now. We'll have to get our translator to get this all worked out later.
Then on our way home from our morning visit with Pavel/Micah/Berusa/Pasha/Berushi/Pashka (no wonder this poor kid doesn't respond to anything!!) we tried to stop and get a phone card. Something we've been meaning to do since we got to Odesa. Actually, we really needed it because we were invited to dinner by another American family adopting, along with another American family adopting and our translator (who is also theirs) and her husband. Anyway, I told them we would call them back, hense, needing the phonecard.
ANYWAY, we went into this store to buy one and asked the man if he spoke any english, he said he did and said enough back to be pretty convincing that we all understood one another, and asked to see our phone (we assumed so that he could see which kind of card we needed). After we paid 25 grivna's (which is only like $3.50) he handed us our phone back along with this little plastic case. We asked how many minutes that gave us and he rattled something off that we didn't really understand but it sounded like he was saying 'plenty of minutes if you're just making local calls', and we left. When we got home we realized he changed a chip INSIDE the phone and now we have a whole different service! Crap! The only numbers we have written down are Nikoly (the driver from Kiev) and Bridgitte- everyone elses were IN the phone and no longer there! But we can't even call those two numbers, it says something in Russian we can't understand, and we're PRETTY sure our phone number isn't even the same, so no one can call us! This is not good.
So I've emailed Yulia and explained the whole thing to her and we're hoping she can email us back with some kind of instructions on how to get this fixed. We would take it back to the same man and have him change it back, but to put the old chip back in and activate it requires a four digit code and who the heck knows what that is.
So please pray that this phone situation gets resolved quickly!! We are meeting our driver back at the orphanage at 6 tonight, so if all else fails we can try to explain the situation to her in spanish (she speaks no english either, but we communicate mostly in our broken spanish!) and she will call Alyona (our interpreter) for us. We are both so frustrated and wish we had just waited for our driver to help us buy one. Oh well, though! Live and learn!!!
I do have to say that the redeeming highlight of this whole day was our visit with Pavel. He was already out on the playground with his group when we got there, and when he saw us coming, he RAN all the way to us with both arms in the air and Jake scooped him up and they held each other for about 10 minutes straight. As soon as Jake picked him up I tried to show the caretakers our little red form saying we could visit him, but they smiled and shook their heads no and waved us away as if to say 'don't worry about it'. Which I thought was kinda cool. Anyway, we had a great two hours with him, he stopped every little while to hold Jake and snuggle with him. When Jake picks him up he smiles SO big and presses his cheek against Jakes. Its just the sweetest sight and everyone who's around to see them can feel it. :)
***Update: We got our phone working, YAY!! Yulia emailed us right back and had the code to reactivate the other chip inside the phone. But by the time we fixed it, had our afternoon visit with Pavel, bought a REAL phone card, it was too late to get together with the other family for dinner. And we still don't have their number to say we aren't coming, so we hate that but... we tried. :( Also the man who sold us the phone card smiled at us when he heard us speak and in a Ukrainian accented english said "what city are you from in America?" We told him Nashville and he said "I'm from philadelphia"! So we talked for a second and he let us pay in Dollars which was awesome, and we told him we'd come back and see him if we needed another card on our trip. But PRAISE THE LORD our phone is back to normal!!!***
Today has been, um, interesting. :) We woke up this morning to a kitchen floor half flooded with water. The pipes under the kitchen sink have sprung a leak. We got one of the women who sit out front (there isn't exactly a 'front desk' here :)) to come look at it and tried to ask if we could get it fixed. Jake found the main knobby thingy that turns all the water OFF, but now we think she thinks that fixed it and we're not sure she's going to have anyone look at it now. We'll have to get our translator to get this all worked out later.
Then on our way home from our morning visit with Pavel/Micah/Berusa/Pasha/Berushi/Pashka (no wonder this poor kid doesn't respond to anything!!) we tried to stop and get a phone card. Something we've been meaning to do since we got to Odesa. Actually, we really needed it because we were invited to dinner by another American family adopting, along with another American family adopting and our translator (who is also theirs) and her husband. Anyway, I told them we would call them back, hense, needing the phonecard.
ANYWAY, we went into this store to buy one and asked the man if he spoke any english, he said he did and said enough back to be pretty convincing that we all understood one another, and asked to see our phone (we assumed so that he could see which kind of card we needed). After we paid 25 grivna's (which is only like $3.50) he handed us our phone back along with this little plastic case. We asked how many minutes that gave us and he rattled something off that we didn't really understand but it sounded like he was saying 'plenty of minutes if you're just making local calls', and we left. When we got home we realized he changed a chip INSIDE the phone and now we have a whole different service! Crap! The only numbers we have written down are Nikoly (the driver from Kiev) and Bridgitte- everyone elses were IN the phone and no longer there! But we can't even call those two numbers, it says something in Russian we can't understand, and we're PRETTY sure our phone number isn't even the same, so no one can call us! This is not good.
So I've emailed Yulia and explained the whole thing to her and we're hoping she can email us back with some kind of instructions on how to get this fixed. We would take it back to the same man and have him change it back, but to put the old chip back in and activate it requires a four digit code and who the heck knows what that is.
So please pray that this phone situation gets resolved quickly!! We are meeting our driver back at the orphanage at 6 tonight, so if all else fails we can try to explain the situation to her in spanish (she speaks no english either, but we communicate mostly in our broken spanish!) and she will call Alyona (our interpreter) for us. We are both so frustrated and wish we had just waited for our driver to help us buy one. Oh well, though! Live and learn!!!
I do have to say that the redeeming highlight of this whole day was our visit with Pavel. He was already out on the playground with his group when we got there, and when he saw us coming, he RAN all the way to us with both arms in the air and Jake scooped him up and they held each other for about 10 minutes straight. As soon as Jake picked him up I tried to show the caretakers our little red form saying we could visit him, but they smiled and shook their heads no and waved us away as if to say 'don't worry about it'. Which I thought was kinda cool. Anyway, we had a great two hours with him, he stopped every little while to hold Jake and snuggle with him. When Jake picks him up he smiles SO big and presses his cheek against Jakes. Its just the sweetest sight and everyone who's around to see them can feel it. :)
Today's visit
Can I first just say that I LOVE having internet in our apartment! :) The first picture is looking out from our apartment front door... and the second one is me... in front of our apartment front door. :) And yes, everyone here knows I'm pregnant, there's NO hiding it anymore. But everyone has said its totally fine and not a big deal at all. Praise the Lord!
Today went really well! It was a VERY tiring day, but a great one. We first went to the notary's office to sign some paperwork. We officially naming him Pavel Micah Spencer. :) We were waiting until we got here to decide for sure what we might call him... we had heard that the nickname for Pavel is Pasha, and that is a 'nickname' for him at the orphanage but he more often is called (and responds to) Berusa or Berusic (like bear-U-sah or bear-U-sick). Which is basically his last name shortened.
He was wearing yet another cute hat today (this is the third one we've seen) and he really loves them. This one was more like a baseball hat. If you take it off or twist it, he uses those bear paws to adjust it tight. This kid is definitely meant to be one of Jake's kids. :) My camera battery died as soon as I got there, but since I got over 100 pictures yesterday, I figured it was fine. :)
Our visiting hours are between 10-12am and then again from 4-6pm. (So that he can eat lunch, nap, and have "second lunch" during the in between times. So we decided that since we are paying the driver PER trip, that we'd have her drop us off at the orphanage at 10am and not pick us up until 6... then we would walk around that part of town during those middle four hours. Well, that proved to be one of the most exhausting 4 hour periods of our lives. :) We walked and walked and walked and walked. Mostly because there weren't a ton of places to just sit, and also because we knew of this big grocery store which felt not far (by car) and walked all the way to it and back. And during our walking, we found a wonderful thing- never have the golden arches of McDonalds looked SO wonderful! We haven't really had many opportunities to try out some good Ukrainian cuisine (I think mostly because we don't really know the "good" places to go and what to order there... everything we've seen in the tiny places we've passed doesn't look too appetizing. So we've basically been living on trail mix and granola bars (that we brought with us) and buying fruit, chips, crackers, juice and coke from the store. So we haven't actually had a MEAL since we ate at TGI Fridays in Kiev. We're pathetic, I know. :)
Anyway once we got back, the afternoon visit was SO nice. He wasn't quite all the way awake from his nap and sat with us for quite a while looking through the photo album of our family that we brought for him. We pointed to "Papi" (what the caregivers call him) and to mommy, and to each of the girls. He seems to go point to the pictures of Ashley a lot, which I think is fun. The rest of the time we just walked around the grounds outside and occasionally we'd have to stop so he could snuggle with Jake. He wraps those little hands around Jakes neck and holds on so tight. Its absolutely the sweetest thing. And Jake will kind of "mmmm" hum when they hug and he LOVES it. Then he touches Jakes face and thinks for a bit and squeezes him some more. (He definitely is in need of a father figure.) Then he gets down and holds Jake's hand to lead him around. He's not as affectionate with me at all yet, we mostly play tickle games and say "ugg" back and forth to each other, but when he holds Jake's hand he almost always turns around to be sure I'm following them. :) I know my one on one time with him will come when we get home, and its so important to me that he fill this need he has with Jake right now. Also I think it will help so much having that bond for when Jake comes back to get him.
We are pretty exhausted tonight... sore and our feet are KILLING us, but it was a good day. Tomorrow we won't see him until 4 because in the morning he's making his twice weekly trip to the beach. :) They told us he loves it and is the first one to the water! Again... this is meant to be our child. :) I think we'll check out the area around our apartment tomorrow and try to rest a little. We'll update more soon.
The Blessings continue...
Ok, wow, where to start!? (And better yet, how to keep it concise!?)
The train ride was great. Again, more trouble sleeping (though after today, not having the chance to nap, I think all our jetlat troubles are behind us), but nonetheless a safe uneventful trip.
Our whole "facilitating team" (? :)) is GREAT! McKenna, we've been with Svetlana, Alyona, and actually Yuri's WIFE :) all day. And all three of them have been amazing. And they were SO excited to see pictures of your family! Lots of high pitched russian squeeling! :)
Our apartment is nice... it has its own wireless internet in the livingroom PRAISE THE LORD! I was afraid any updates from here would be difficult, but this is GREAT. We were able to skype the kids for the first time today and it was so good to see them. :) This apartment is not as clean as the last one but much bigger. I think I'm gonna find some cleaning gloves and go to work! I guess we got spoiled from the last apartment.
Even being a private blog, I'm nervous to go into too many details about the day until this thing is over, but suffice to say, we were VERY blessed with MANY wonderful opportunities... I was able to catch some pictures for some friends of other kids who will be coming home soon ;)we had a great meeting with the orphanage, and found out lots about his history. AND we got to spend LOTS of time with our little boy!!!
He is... wow, how to explain Pavel?! He's boy to the bone, LOVES throwing balls (and toys), runs just as fast as his little legs will take him, and has more energy than he knows what to do with so he just keeps very busy! The first time we saw him, he smiled at me and backed into me to sit in my lap!! Then I got my little hug and he was off! He has really connected with Jake, though, which was sooo precious to see. He loves his gottee and wanted to touch Jake's face a lot.
He's not talking... at all really, but the staff said that he understands quite a bit. All he said when we were with him was "ugg". :) We aren't really sure what that meant, but assumed it covered a lot of things, lol!
Well here are some pictures from our day today... I've got video too that I'll try to post tomorrow but I'm running out of battery for now.
Our sweet boy...
The train ride was great. Again, more trouble sleeping (though after today, not having the chance to nap, I think all our jetlat troubles are behind us), but nonetheless a safe uneventful trip.
Our whole "facilitating team" (? :)) is GREAT! McKenna, we've been with Svetlana, Alyona, and actually Yuri's WIFE :) all day. And all three of them have been amazing. And they were SO excited to see pictures of your family! Lots of high pitched russian squeeling! :)
Our apartment is nice... it has its own wireless internet in the livingroom PRAISE THE LORD! I was afraid any updates from here would be difficult, but this is GREAT. We were able to skype the kids for the first time today and it was so good to see them. :) This apartment is not as clean as the last one but much bigger. I think I'm gonna find some cleaning gloves and go to work! I guess we got spoiled from the last apartment.
Even being a private blog, I'm nervous to go into too many details about the day until this thing is over, but suffice to say, we were VERY blessed with MANY wonderful opportunities... I was able to catch some pictures for some friends of other kids who will be coming home soon ;)we had a great meeting with the orphanage, and found out lots about his history. AND we got to spend LOTS of time with our little boy!!!
He is... wow, how to explain Pavel?! He's boy to the bone, LOVES throwing balls (and toys), runs just as fast as his little legs will take him, and has more energy than he knows what to do with so he just keeps very busy! The first time we saw him, he smiled at me and backed into me to sit in my lap!! Then I got my little hug and he was off! He has really connected with Jake, though, which was sooo precious to see. He loves his gottee and wanted to touch Jake's face a lot.
He's not talking... at all really, but the staff said that he understands quite a bit. All he said when we were with him was "ugg". :) We aren't really sure what that meant, but assumed it covered a lot of things, lol!
Well here are some pictures from our day today... I've got video too that I'll try to post tomorrow but I'm running out of battery for now.
Our sweet boy...
SDA, Kyiv and ZZZ...
As I write this, I am one very blessed (very TIRED) woman!
Today I sat in a little office with my husband and two Ukrainian women and we looked at the file of a little boy named Pavel. :) We were asked a few simple questions and we told a brief story of who we are and how we came to be here. We were told that this little boy’s parents didn’t feel that they could take care of him when they had him at ages 45 and 35. So they have signed papers saying they don’t want him and will willingly give him over for adoption. We felt such favor from the Lord in that room… the woman said that she was grateful that we wanted him and admitted that it is difficult to find families for children with Down syndrome in their country. She understood that we were fully aware of all that is associated with Ds and absolutely wanted to make him our own. And she said that she wanted to speed this process along because she understood that we needed to get home to our other children. We all thanked each other once more and left. And in that 10 minute period, we became one huge step closer to our lives changing forever. :) We are to go back this afternoon to finalize what happened this morning and then we are getting on a train tonight to travel the 8 hours or so to meet our little boy for the very first time!
I don’t think that this morning could have gone any smoother. Everything happened so quickly and so effortlessly. We are SO blessed to have our amazing facilitator. She has been absolutely wonderful. And we have been so blessed that this process has been so smooth this far.
Psa 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. (2) He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. (3) He has put a new song in my mouth; Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD. (4) Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. (5) Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.
Please pray with us that:
~Our meeting this afternoon would go well
~For safety for on train ride to Odessa
~We could recover from the jet lag which is still pretty bad for both of us
~That God would give us wisdom, favor and that we would shine the love of Christ where ever we go
~For our first meeting with Pavel
And now, a few pictures!! (Uploading takes forever, so I will try to post more later.) We very much enjoyed our time in the beautiful city of Kyiv. And our apartment was very cozy… we hope the next one is as nice. We had a lot of fun walking around downtown… here are some of my random observations and thoughts about this city: 1) I never knew what “underground sidewalks” meant until we got here. I think more cities in America should do this. 2) I am very curious to know what would warrant a parking ticket in this city. Cars are parked anywhere and everywhere… the street, the sidewalks, absolutely anywhere. 3.) What they say about exact change is true. People get VERY irritated if you don’t have exact bills, but coins don’t matter as much. 4.) Don’t be too proud to bust out the translation guide when trying to buy some conditioner. You may accidentally buy MORE shampoo. 5.) Hallways of buildings can be very misleading. You can walk through a hall way and feel like the building is going to cave in at any minute… only to walk into a room and it looks like it was built 5 years ago. 6.) Birds are EVERYwhere, but I have only seen 2 bugs since we got here. I’m wondering if the two are related… 7.) If you are a woman in your 20’s, you must own skinny jeans, some shiny pumps and have bangs that are cut straight across. 8.) We saw a couple of different women pulling their strollers instead of pushing them. Don’t know if that was just a coincidence or if that is common here. 9.) Everyone walks in front of cars and I’m curious to know how many people die a year from being hit by a car on the street. 10.) There are little chunks of white fluffy stuff that floats through the air everywhere. It looks like cotton almost but we think its from the tree's. Anyway, its all over the place and looks kind of pretty but its really annoying when it floats into your face. 11.) Taxi’s are terrifying. They must be exempt from all traffic laws. Exhaustion, leftover nerves from an important appointment, car sickness and a little touch of morning sickness do NOT mix in the back of a taxi!
I guess that’s all for now. We love you ALL and will update again from Odessa!!
Our kitchen
Thanks Wes and D'Arcy for the bag, it doubles as a great entertainment center! :)
Before we left the Nashville airport... so ready to go!!
(Sorry these were random pics... I'm running out of battery now and trying to grab pics quickly! Will post better ones soon I promise! :))
Today I sat in a little office with my husband and two Ukrainian women and we looked at the file of a little boy named Pavel. :) We were asked a few simple questions and we told a brief story of who we are and how we came to be here. We were told that this little boy’s parents didn’t feel that they could take care of him when they had him at ages 45 and 35. So they have signed papers saying they don’t want him and will willingly give him over for adoption. We felt such favor from the Lord in that room… the woman said that she was grateful that we wanted him and admitted that it is difficult to find families for children with Down syndrome in their country. She understood that we were fully aware of all that is associated with Ds and absolutely wanted to make him our own. And she said that she wanted to speed this process along because she understood that we needed to get home to our other children. We all thanked each other once more and left. And in that 10 minute period, we became one huge step closer to our lives changing forever. :) We are to go back this afternoon to finalize what happened this morning and then we are getting on a train tonight to travel the 8 hours or so to meet our little boy for the very first time!
I don’t think that this morning could have gone any smoother. Everything happened so quickly and so effortlessly. We are SO blessed to have our amazing facilitator. She has been absolutely wonderful. And we have been so blessed that this process has been so smooth this far.
Psa 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. (2) He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. (3) He has put a new song in my mouth; Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD. (4) Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. (5) Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.
Please pray with us that:
~Our meeting this afternoon would go well
~For safety for on train ride to Odessa
~We could recover from the jet lag which is still pretty bad for both of us
~That God would give us wisdom, favor and that we would shine the love of Christ where ever we go
~For our first meeting with Pavel
And now, a few pictures!! (Uploading takes forever, so I will try to post more later.) We very much enjoyed our time in the beautiful city of Kyiv. And our apartment was very cozy… we hope the next one is as nice. We had a lot of fun walking around downtown… here are some of my random observations and thoughts about this city: 1) I never knew what “underground sidewalks” meant until we got here. I think more cities in America should do this. 2) I am very curious to know what would warrant a parking ticket in this city. Cars are parked anywhere and everywhere… the street, the sidewalks, absolutely anywhere. 3.) What they say about exact change is true. People get VERY irritated if you don’t have exact bills, but coins don’t matter as much. 4.) Don’t be too proud to bust out the translation guide when trying to buy some conditioner. You may accidentally buy MORE shampoo. 5.) Hallways of buildings can be very misleading. You can walk through a hall way and feel like the building is going to cave in at any minute… only to walk into a room and it looks like it was built 5 years ago. 6.) Birds are EVERYwhere, but I have only seen 2 bugs since we got here. I’m wondering if the two are related… 7.) If you are a woman in your 20’s, you must own skinny jeans, some shiny pumps and have bangs that are cut straight across. 8.) We saw a couple of different women pulling their strollers instead of pushing them. Don’t know if that was just a coincidence or if that is common here. 9.) Everyone walks in front of cars and I’m curious to know how many people die a year from being hit by a car on the street. 10.) There are little chunks of white fluffy stuff that floats through the air everywhere. It looks like cotton almost but we think its from the tree's. Anyway, its all over the place and looks kind of pretty but its really annoying when it floats into your face. 11.) Taxi’s are terrifying. They must be exempt from all traffic laws. Exhaustion, leftover nerves from an important appointment, car sickness and a little touch of morning sickness do NOT mix in the back of a taxi!
I guess that’s all for now. We love you ALL and will update again from Odessa!!
Our kitchen
Thanks Wes and D'Arcy for the bag, it doubles as a great entertainment center! :)
Another of the apartment.
The view of Kyiv from our window, we're on the top floor!
Before we left the Nashville airport... so ready to go!!
(Sorry these were random pics... I'm running out of battery now and trying to grab pics quickly! Will post better ones soon I promise! :))
Hello from Ukraine!
We're here! I'm sitting in a little cafe not far from our apartment, SO thankful to have an internet connection!!!
Our flights went well, thanks to all who prayed! The 8 hour flight from DC to Frankfurt when by in no time and we were able to sleep which was nice. We cleared passport stuff and customs in Kiev with no problems what so ever and a man from Yulia's team picked us up and took us to our apartment. He was so very helpful and really friendly.
I still can't believe we're really here... we slept more hours in a row than we've ever slept in our lives!! But we are doing good and ready to go for our SDA appointment in the morning! Today we're going to do a little more sight seeing on our street (sorry, I don't know the name of it for those who have been here... but I will find out) :) Its beautiful with pretty sidewalks and tree's and lots of upscale shops... I'm really looking forward to walking around more today.
I thought I would feel more adventurous when it came to the food, but I have to say I think we're planning on checking out the TGI friday's for dinner! lol :)
Will try to update more later... and post some pictures... but we weren't sure we were going to find internet when we first left the apartment. This was a pleasant surprise!
Thanks again to all who are lifting us up in prayer... your prayers are definitley felt! Blessings to all back home....
Our flights went well, thanks to all who prayed! The 8 hour flight from DC to Frankfurt when by in no time and we were able to sleep which was nice. We cleared passport stuff and customs in Kiev with no problems what so ever and a man from Yulia's team picked us up and took us to our apartment. He was so very helpful and really friendly.
I still can't believe we're really here... we slept more hours in a row than we've ever slept in our lives!! But we are doing good and ready to go for our SDA appointment in the morning! Today we're going to do a little more sight seeing on our street (sorry, I don't know the name of it for those who have been here... but I will find out) :) Its beautiful with pretty sidewalks and tree's and lots of upscale shops... I'm really looking forward to walking around more today.
I thought I would feel more adventurous when it came to the food, but I have to say I think we're planning on checking out the TGI friday's for dinner! lol :)
Will try to update more later... and post some pictures... but we weren't sure we were going to find internet when we first left the apartment. This was a pleasant surprise!
Thanks again to all who are lifting us up in prayer... your prayers are definitley felt! Blessings to all back home....
Leaving on a jet plane
24 hours from RIGHT now, I'm going to be on a plane. And the thought that keeps coming to mind is: "Didn't we just decide to adopt like, yesterday?!" I've been very reminiscent the last couple days of the moment we made the decision. The moment the Lord spoke to me... the moment the Lord confirmed it to Jake... the moment I emailed Andrea to say, "Save them for me." I'm telling you it all feels like yesterday. My brain has already forgotten the paperwork, the frustrations of homestudys and medical forms and notary certifications. Blessed forgetfulness. :)
And you know, I don't feel nervous at all. Not even a little. I'm completely at peace and looking forward to my first journey over sea's. A little unexpected getaway with just my husband... and an introduction to a little boy who will be ours for the rest of our lives.
I've been thinking too about how the world must look at this as foolishness. To bring home a little one with special needs. I can almost hear peoples thoughts... "Do they know what they're getting in to?" Yes. We do. "Can they handle it?" Yes. Because God called us to do this and He will give us the strength. "Will this affect their other kids?" I sure hope so. I hope they grow up with more patience, more love, and a better understanding that everyone needs to be loved and accepted no matter what the world says about them. And they are getting the gift of an intimate experience of what Christ has done for us. Adopted us as His own. Taken us under His wing and called us His beloved.
I'm going to try to take it easy today and enjoy the day with my kids. Maybe we'll get some ice cream and go to the park.
This is my last post before we leave, I'm turning OFF my computer today. But I will check email one last time before bed. And the next post... will likely be from Europe! If you think of us, say a prayer for our flight tomorrow. :)
And you know, I don't feel nervous at all. Not even a little. I'm completely at peace and looking forward to my first journey over sea's. A little unexpected getaway with just my husband... and an introduction to a little boy who will be ours for the rest of our lives.
I've been thinking too about how the world must look at this as foolishness. To bring home a little one with special needs. I can almost hear peoples thoughts... "Do they know what they're getting in to?" Yes. We do. "Can they handle it?" Yes. Because God called us to do this and He will give us the strength. "Will this affect their other kids?" I sure hope so. I hope they grow up with more patience, more love, and a better understanding that everyone needs to be loved and accepted no matter what the world says about them. And they are getting the gift of an intimate experience of what Christ has done for us. Adopted us as His own. Taken us under His wing and called us His beloved.
I'm going to try to take it easy today and enjoy the day with my kids. Maybe we'll get some ice cream and go to the park.
This is my last post before we leave, I'm turning OFF my computer today. But I will check email one last time before bed. And the next post... will likely be from Europe! If you think of us, say a prayer for our flight tomorrow. :)
Pregnancy and Adoption
My cousin (kind of? lol)/friend, Linda, had a great question, that I thought I'd reply to as a post. She basically asked if anyone in Ukraine knows that I'm pregnant and if we foresee that as a problem.
Our facilitator there DOES know that I'm pregnant. She's the one who RR connected us with to facilitate our adoption in Ukraine and RR has a great relationship with her. She's helped lots of RR families bring home their babies. (The RR director and most of my close RR friends do know I'm pregnant as well.) But we're using kind of a "don't ask, don't tell" policy with the gov't officials. It may not matter to them at all, but at this point we're looking at it that it would be best just not to share if they don't ask. No need to create a possible problem. We didn't find out until most of our paperwork was done (homestudy, medicals, etc.) so it isn't written in any paperwork. BUT we definitely won't lie about it. And if they do find out, oh well... we'll just pray for the best! I'm so confident that this adoption AND this new baby were both Gods plan that I'm not really concerned about that being an issue. I definitely have a peace about it all. Just pray! Thanks for that question!
WE LEAVE IN TWO DAYS!!!
Our facilitator there DOES know that I'm pregnant. She's the one who RR connected us with to facilitate our adoption in Ukraine and RR has a great relationship with her. She's helped lots of RR families bring home their babies. (The RR director and most of my close RR friends do know I'm pregnant as well.) But we're using kind of a "don't ask, don't tell" policy with the gov't officials. It may not matter to them at all, but at this point we're looking at it that it would be best just not to share if they don't ask. No need to create a possible problem. We didn't find out until most of our paperwork was done (homestudy, medicals, etc.) so it isn't written in any paperwork. BUT we definitely won't lie about it. And if they do find out, oh well... we'll just pray for the best! I'm so confident that this adoption AND this new baby were both Gods plan that I'm not really concerned about that being an issue. I definitely have a peace about it all. Just pray! Thanks for that question!
WE LEAVE IN TWO DAYS!!!
Random stuff
"With love to share, families turn to adoption" Some of you may know this already or have already seen it, but our family was in the Williamson AM section of the Tennessean this past Sunday. :) I'm not posting this on our adoption blog because the article does mention our pregnancy. Wasn't thinking about that when they interviewed me over the phone. :) They got Jake's name wrong (I'm married to "Jack Spencer" through the whole article) and they messed up the kids ages but nonetheless I thought it was pretty fun and wanted to share. (For those who don't know them, the Wiemers and the Baileys are both friends of ours from church. You can find links to their blogs on my sidebar.) You can click here to read the article. Our family is on pages 2 and 3.
Also, we were very blessed with a sweet gift... I wrote about it on my adoption blog and you can read about that here.
Lastly, I thought I would share that as I was talking with the girls today about the baby... Ashley announced (for the second time) that she wants the baby's name to be Sarah. Hm. Ok we'll think about it. And Emily has decided that the baby's name should be Strawberry Shortcake. Yeah, probably not so much on that one. :)
And in case you don't think about it every other second like I do, WE LEAVE IN THREE DAYS!!! Aaahhh!!
Also, we were very blessed with a sweet gift... I wrote about it on my adoption blog and you can read about that here.
Lastly, I thought I would share that as I was talking with the girls today about the baby... Ashley announced (for the second time) that she wants the baby's name to be Sarah. Hm. Ok we'll think about it. And Emily has decided that the baby's name should be Strawberry Shortcake. Yeah, probably not so much on that one. :)
And in case you don't think about it every other second like I do, WE LEAVE IN THREE DAYS!!! Aaahhh!!
Ultrasound Pics :)
That shot of her booty is my favorite! Is that not the cutest little thing you've ever seen?!
WE'RE HAVING A....
GIRL!!!!
OH MY GOODNESS!!! Who would have guessed! :D
We are SO excited, but I must say, shocked! We definitely all thought for SURE that this baby was a boy. :)
The ultrasound was great, Ashley and Emily went with us and had fun watching the baby squirm on the screen. :) We counted all 10 fingers, she was waving at us lots! I was having some braxton hicks (sp?) contractions during the ultrasound, which was pushing my placenta up into the baby, making it a little hard to get some certain shots that they wanted to get. We couldn't see her profile, but more importantly, we couldn't get a clear view of her heart, so we will be doing another one shortly after we get home (which was perfect timing they said). She did catch that it was beating strong though, just couldn't get the clear picture for records that they like to have. And definitely got a clear shot that THIS BABY IS A GIRL. :)
I'm pooped out tonight, but I'll post all my pics tomorrow.
And we bought a camera today, HURRAY!!! So I've got pictures of the girls in the waiting room too.
But for now, pray for Daddy and Pavel! They are gonna be the lone men of the house! Oh my goodness, I STILL can't believe it!!!!!!!!
OH MY GOODNESS!!! Who would have guessed! :D
We are SO excited, but I must say, shocked! We definitely all thought for SURE that this baby was a boy. :)
The ultrasound was great, Ashley and Emily went with us and had fun watching the baby squirm on the screen. :) We counted all 10 fingers, she was waving at us lots! I was having some braxton hicks (sp?) contractions during the ultrasound, which was pushing my placenta up into the baby, making it a little hard to get some certain shots that they wanted to get. We couldn't see her profile, but more importantly, we couldn't get a clear view of her heart, so we will be doing another one shortly after we get home (which was perfect timing they said). She did catch that it was beating strong though, just couldn't get the clear picture for records that they like to have. And definitely got a clear shot that THIS BABY IS A GIRL. :)
I'm pooped out tonight, but I'll post all my pics tomorrow.
And we bought a camera today, HURRAY!!! So I've got pictures of the girls in the waiting room too.
But for now, pray for Daddy and Pavel! They are gonna be the lone men of the house! Oh my goodness, I STILL can't believe it!!!!!!!!
Doctor today
My little check up today looked great, I'm clear for travel! :) We heard the baby's heart beat right off the bat and sounded strong.
And they've scheduled my big ultrasound for Monday!!! Jake finally gave in (sorry Babe ;)) and we are going to find out the baby's gender!!! YAY! What a major week this is going to be... whew.
My dear friend came over today and helped me basically GUT my house and organize every room. Its amazing how much better that makes you feel. Tomorrow she's coming back to paint... the hall bathroom, Pavel's room (!) and maybe even the hallway. So if anyone wants to grab a roller and come on over tomorrow afternoon... ! :D
For now, my kids are thoroughly exhausted from playing with their friends, so I'm off to bathe them and put them to bed. :)
And they've scheduled my big ultrasound for Monday!!! Jake finally gave in (sorry Babe ;)) and we are going to find out the baby's gender!!! YAY! What a major week this is going to be... whew.
My dear friend came over today and helped me basically GUT my house and organize every room. Its amazing how much better that makes you feel. Tomorrow she's coming back to paint... the hall bathroom, Pavel's room (!) and maybe even the hallway. So if anyone wants to grab a roller and come on over tomorrow afternoon... ! :D
For now, my kids are thoroughly exhausted from playing with their friends, so I'm off to bathe them and put them to bed. :)
We leave the 16th!!
**Update- the nausea is definitely getting better! I think I needed a day to let that phenegran wear off! Thanks for your prayers, they're helping so much. A friend of mine is coming over today to help me get my house in a place where I feel like its decent again and I have an OB appointment today. Will let you know how it goes. :)**
We are booking our flights now, but our schedule is to leave Nashville at 8:45am. We have a layover in DC, then another in Germany. By 1:20pm on the 17th (their time) we will arrive in Kiev!!!
I can't even believe we are leaving a week from Saturday!!! It blows my mind.
If you would, please pray for us. Abby, Ashley and I have each had a little run with a funky stomach bug (actually I got it twice I think). Ugh. Right now, I'm able to keep food and liquid down, but it took two doses of phenegran yesterday to keep anything down. And now I don't really feel nauseated, but my head hurts, my ears are stopped up and I'm kind of dizzy. Which I'm assuming are all left over side affects from the phenegran. I'm back on Zofran right now though, so hopefully these funky effects will wear off and I will remain nausea free. :)
There is SO much that needs to be done around this house to get ready for us being gone for three weeks. I REALLY need the energy to get it all done. The excitement of our first trip (and of MEETING Pavel for the first time), the stress of getting my house in order, the stress of finances (we do still have $4,000 left to raise), and the hormones of pregnancy are all trying to get the better of me. Jake has been amazing and so helpful but he has a lot on his plate as well.
The countdown is on: we leave in 10 DAYS!!!
We are booking our flights now, but our schedule is to leave Nashville at 8:45am. We have a layover in DC, then another in Germany. By 1:20pm on the 17th (their time) we will arrive in Kiev!!!
I can't even believe we are leaving a week from Saturday!!! It blows my mind.
If you would, please pray for us. Abby, Ashley and I have each had a little run with a funky stomach bug (actually I got it twice I think). Ugh. Right now, I'm able to keep food and liquid down, but it took two doses of phenegran yesterday to keep anything down. And now I don't really feel nauseated, but my head hurts, my ears are stopped up and I'm kind of dizzy. Which I'm assuming are all left over side affects from the phenegran. I'm back on Zofran right now though, so hopefully these funky effects will wear off and I will remain nausea free. :)
There is SO much that needs to be done around this house to get ready for us being gone for three weeks. I REALLY need the energy to get it all done. The excitement of our first trip (and of MEETING Pavel for the first time), the stress of getting my house in order, the stress of finances (we do still have $4,000 left to raise), and the hormones of pregnancy are all trying to get the better of me. Jake has been amazing and so helpful but he has a lot on his plate as well.
The countdown is on: we leave in 10 DAYS!!!
7 years ago today...
I walked down a grassy aisle, with my dad at my side, and said "I do" to the man of my dreams. I remember every detail of that day as if it were yesterday. I remember getting ready upstairs of the historic Cool Springs house with all of my beautiful bridesmaids and knowing my groom was getting ready downstairs. I remember peeking out the window as the guests would arrive and feeling butterflies. I remember watching our bridesmaids walk out the back door one at a time and dissapear into the aisle. I remember the way Jake's suit felt as we had our first married kiss. I remember the words he whispered in my ear as we had our first dance.I remember sitting in our first house the night of our first anniversary... boxes still unpacked, eating takeout... I was 5 months pregnant with our first daughter. :)
And now, 7 years later, I can honestly say I am more in love, more in awe, have more respect and a much deeper friendship with that man with every passing year. For every "hat" that I wear listed in the header of this blog, he is the other half. He is a husband, father, adopting parent, expecting dad, house cleaner, lawn caretaker, master griller, breadwinner, disciplinarian, Jr High and Sr High youth pastor, parent of kids with Ds, prayer warrior, son, brother, friend, and Child of God. And so much more. :) He's the head of my house and my best friend. My covering and my love.
Now my girls see the pictures of our wedding and ask if that was the day that I was a princess. :) "Yes." I answer. "It was. But I'll always be daddy's bride."
I love you, Babe. Happy Anniversary. I'm yours now and forever.
Crazy Stuff
**I meant to post this on THIS blog, so if some of you saw it on the adoption one, that was a mistake!**
I came across this video by way of an email forward and just can't get over some of these stats. As I said to some of you, this video doesn't really give a reason or an answer for any of this, it just is what it is. This is the world we are living in now, and this is the world our kids are growing up into.
From what I understand, this was made for a Sony Executive Conference this year. Crazy stuff.
I came across this video by way of an email forward and just can't get over some of these stats. As I said to some of you, this video doesn't really give a reason or an answer for any of this, it just is what it is. This is the world we are living in now, and this is the world our kids are growing up into.
From what I understand, this was made for a Sony Executive Conference this year. Crazy stuff.
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