Praise God, We are Together!
-
This will be a pretty quick post here on Christmas Eve (it's a few minutes before midnight here). Today has been a whirlwind, and tomorrow shows no signs of letting up!
-
Wanted to let everyone know that we received our Christmas Miracle this afternoon. Things went great, and we are so appreciative of all who were praying us through this day! So many of you had encouraged us via e-mail, and we were so charged up.
-
We left our apartment at 12:10PM today as a couple, and at 5:30PM the three of us returned as the Daugherty Family. After that, things went great. Donny played, ran, and laughed with a new spirit that I don't believe I've seen in those hallways and dimly lit playrooms at the orphanage. Barb & I have a new ensthusiaum as well. So after our first playtime at home, we had our first meal together, then his first bath. He has only showered before, so it was very interesting. But once he finally was ready to sit in the water, he loved it... and boy could he splash! Then came our first bedtime at 8pm. That was a little rough, on him & us. The first 10 minutes he cried, but then he started to settle down & was asleep about 8:25pm. We have a lot to learn about each other, and a lot of adjustments to make. Thank God we aren't walking this road alone. His wisdom will get us through.
-
I must close for now. Our airline tickets had to be booked for a 10:30am flight tomorrow. So on Christmas Day, we will fly back to Kiev and prepare for the steps that have to be done there in the future days. We will leave this apartment at 8am to head to the airport.
-
This has been an incrediable day! Praise God for our son, and our new family. Hope your Christmas is just as blessed as you celebrate the birth of His Son!
-
In His Love,
Darrin (Barb & Donny are sleeping)
-
P.S. I've been meaning to ask, but I keep forgetting... If anyone sees a 6 pack of the Coca-Cola 2008 Christmas Bottles at Wal-Mart. Please pick a couple of 6 packs up for Donny, I will probably sell that collection someday to put him through college! They weren't in the stores yet when we left 4 weeks and 2 days ago.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Twas The Night Before Donny... (written Tues PM)
Happy Christmas Week!
---
Monday, December 22nd
It began with a quick breakfast then I walked uptown. I stopped to convert some currency, purchase some more cell phone minutes, and then stopped at the grocery store for a few things. Back at the apartment, Barb & I waited to begin our day.
---
Ostap came at noon with his wife & kids and we began a necessary shopping day. Our goal was to finish purchasing all the things that were necessary for Donny to have upon his departure from the orphanage. We went to a baby clothing store and exchanged a snowsuit for a jacket/jumper combo; we also exchanged other things for different sizes, and purchased his first Pampers. Then we headed to a shoe store. We found the perfect pair of boots to fit his perfect pair of feet. So now everything is purchased in preparation for his arrival at our apartment.
---
With all the shopping, we didn’t get to Donny’s until 2pm. Knowing our time with him was short, we played quickly, poked a banana down him, got him sugared up with a juice box, and tried to love on him a little bit. We tried to explain to him we wouldn’t see him on Tuesday because we would be doing paperwork errands. We also explained to him next time he would see us (on Wednesday) he would be coming home as part of our family. He might have looked a little excited (or else it was gas from eating the banana too fast) but he remained pretty non-committal in his comments though. We keep laughing with him about Wednesday being “orphanage break” day, and we are pretty sure he is excited about it too. So our visit ended quickly and at 2:40pm I carried him back upstairs for his nap. He cried most of the way, I almost did too.
---
We finally got moisture today, and it wasn’t in Donny’s diaper. Yes, today for the first time since our arrival we saw a little snow and sleet mixture on our way home from the orphanage. It ended shortly after supper, and we saw no real accumulation.
---
At home tonight Barb & I rearranged the apartment and made it “kid friendly”. We put away Donny’s clothes, organized a toy area, and moved away the breakables. Barb started a load of clothes and I fixed a pot of Ramen Noodle/mixed vegetable/salsa soup. It wasn’t too bad as far as thrown together Ukrainian make-do meals go.
---
So it was a very productive day. It is hard to believe that Donny will be under our full-time care on Wednesday. I guess this goes to prove the Ukrainian Courts are pretty liberal; but obviously with sound judgment!
---
Its Tuesday, December 23rd….we officially became parents today!
Today had all the ear-marks of being a jammed packed day and it exceeded all of our expectations. During the night we received more moisture in the form of sleet/snow winter mix. Thus marked my first day of wearing my new boots, I was so excited to put my $35 Payless purchase to use.
---
This day is known as “the paper-work maze”. All adoptive parents have to go thru about 4-6 different steps in about 4-6 different buildings in 4 different corners of the city. This explains why Donny is still a resident at the orphanage, even thought we legally could have removed him today. It was a long, and waiting day, for Barb & I. We are glad we didn’t take him along for this ride. I will attempt to give you the short version of how our day transpired.
---
The taxi picked us up at 9am then we went to get Ostap at his apartment. By 9:30am we arrived at the orphanage. After a short meeting there, we departed to the courthouse with an orphanage employee with us. As Ostap proof read the court decree that the clerk had prepared for us, he noticed a glaring error. So for the next 45 minutes they worked through wording & reprinted the entire decree. Then we waited for the judge to sign & seal the corrected decree. Next came the most interesting stop of the day, the vital records office. This was a treat. Let me start a new paragraph….
---
The vital records office has to prepare the request for the new birth certificate, based on the court decree we just received. The lady we had to deal with has woken up on the wrong side of the bed all of her life. She was determined that she didn’t want to be there, and we shouldn’t be either. To further set the scene, as we walked inside the building, we realized it was warmer outside (and still sleeting) than inside. The building had lost its water/sewer supply. The building is supposed to be heated by hot water radiators. Obviously, there wasn’t any heat. We could see employees wearing their coats, scarves & gloves at their desks, and we could see our breath standing in the hallway. The “lady” started by explaining that she couldn’t complete our paperwork because the court decree wouldn’t be valid until midnight. Our interpreter gave a polite, but firm, rebuttal. It was obvious to everyone else that our decree was signed, sealed, and valid 20 minutes ago when we picked it up. After a slightly heated discussion, Ostap convinced her to call the other offices. She called two other offices and nobody else would agree with her, so she finally had to start preparing the paperwork. This 25 minute task took well over an hour. At one point Ostap left the room and asked me to remain there to watch his computer and briefcase. I will be frank with you; we have now been in
---
Next we drove to the Inspector’s office. I’m still not for sure what this lady does for us, but she has always been nice and we were ready for nice after the last office. It was a quick visit and we picked up another paper from her. Then we phoned the notary office to prepare them for our arrival-SURPRISE-they had no power. Didn’t know why, didn’t know for how long, but didn’t think they would be there for very much longer. So we shifted gears and changed plans.
---
We then took the paperwork that the “happy lady” had prepared and drove it to the
---
By now it was close to 4:30pm and Ostap tried valiantly to locate an alternative notary office that could help us complete our task. After two stops, we realized it was too late in the day and people were closing down. Ostap returned us to our building for the evening. We now we still have two stops ahead of us tomorrow. We must find a functioning notary office and the passport office. After that, we take custody of Donny from the orphanage at 2pm.
---
Barb & I went to “the boat” for our last supper alone. We had a great meal and had just finished when as we were putting on our coats we received a surprise. In the door walked Galya with Liz & Angela Adams (our friends from
---
Our arrival at the apartment netted another unwanted surprise for the day. Our loyal internet modem had run out of subscription and would not let us log on. Tomorrow we hope to get this post made and refill our modem.
---
Shortly after our friends arrived, we had a serious discussion about the travel timetable to return to
---
So that is our plan for now. It is 11:30pm here and we still have some packing to do. We also have some prep remaining before all of tomorrow’s activities.
---
Internet access willing, we intend to get this posted Christmas Eve morning around 1am your time. As we transition to a family of three on Wednesday, then journey to
---
So this is our final Pre-Christmas post to all of you. You are in our hearts and minds constantly. Our longing to return home to begin our life as a family in
---
Wishing you and yours a very Merry CHRISTmas.
In His love,
The Daugherty Family
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
