4/24/07 - Made it through court - Thank the Lord!

Finally had our day in court. Supposed to convene at 2:00 PM. We have learned to expect the unexpected. We started at 3 PM. After 4:20 the judge and 2 person jury stepped out to consult and said they would reconvene at 5:00. At 5:20 we reconvened and we were read all 6 pages line for line of the judgement granting the adoption. We were done at 5:50. Everyone present, the orphanage lawyer, the village inspector, the teacher/rep from the orphanage, the grandfather and us were grilled and we had to answer many questions. Again the personal photo album came into play and was handed to the judge which spoke much for us, our home, community, family and friends. We now officially have a new daughter and couldn't be happier. Ira's grandfather was in tears when the decree was read. One of the jurors also wept. Ira was very dignified and stood up very well throughout the entire procedure. She answered all questions maturely and with confidence. We were pleased and proud. We committed to not ever letting her forget her grandfather. She will be required to write and call him often. We all went out for a celebration dinner with Ira's grandfather before we had to get him to his train in Kharkiv. He had never been to such a place and was overwhelmed and ate heartily. After leaving him off we went back to our flat, Ira bathed and started to watch a Harry Potter DVD when Sergey left and came back with a bouquet of flowers, chocolates and Champagne to celebrate this very special occasion. He is very thoughtful and always has a smile and always has a very upbeat, positive attitude. He's great to have around when you are having a tough day. He has confidence that all will work out and get done. And somehow it does!!! We have been blessed having his guidance and efforts result in continuing to move the process along. Sign up to be patient, don't plan too far ahead, take ONLY one step at a time and then, and only then, think about and move on to the next step. You can go a little crazy otherwise...

Sharon should be on her final leg to Richmond as we type this. Tomorrow, Debbie is off to Kyiv via express train leaving at 7:00 AM. She has an appointment in the afternoon at the Embassy. Sergey, Ira & I will be off on a 4.5 hour car ride to Donetsk for the next 9 days. It ought to be interesting and a new experience for Ira and I in more ways than one. I had it explained to her that she would have to be my guide since she would have to speak for the both of us. She smile and nodded a yes...

We don't have the luxury of pictures right now, but will try again as soon as possible.

4/23/07 - Day before Court !!!

Tomorrow is the big day... court date!!! Everything has been checked and confirmed for our big day tomorrow. After tomorrow the 10 day clock starts ending on Friday 5/3. The actual effective date of the adoption is Saturday 5/4 which means no birth certificate or passport until 5/6., then on to Kyiv. We learned today that there are only 2 working days between 4/30 and 5/10 (holidays 5/1 - 5/3 and 5/9 - 5/11 and extra days in between. They take their holidays very seriously here, a minimum of 2 days but as many as 5 days per holiday mostly by government workers (probably because they work so hard!!!). Debbie is having difficulties trying to reschedule her flight out. We were told Delta is booked through the end of May!!! So another little hump in the road. Maybe we can take the Orient Express and try to get home from Bejing, China. Whatever works... We have had several conversations with the Henry's. They are having their fun too. They did finally get their referral from the SDA today and are off to Berdansk via night train. We wished them well. They are hoping for a break to get their court date in somehow with minimal delays given the holiday down times!!!

After court tomorrow, we (I) will have Ira for the ten day wait, thanks to the orphanage Director. Ira will have to be my guide while we visit Donetsk since she knows the language! We will practice common phases to continue to better communicate. Although I have gotten pretty good at knowing the Russian alphabet and reading signs, my accent only gets me stares and shrugged shoulders, so I guess I could do as well trying to talk Chinese. My mouth and lips do not work right trying to say some things!!! And Ira is concerned with what it will take for her to get up to speed with English. We had her talk to a recently adopted girl from VA Beach yesterday and was given reassurances. Although it made her feel better, she still said she wishes we could adopt her and stay in Ukraine. I hate to be the one to say it, but "fat chance". As much as we are trying to absorb and learn the culture, it is difficult to make the adjustments after living in the US all your life. We bought Ira several Russian DVD movies and music Cd's and player to keep her from being too bored after staring at each other for hours... Sign language is often misunderstood so we have to try other things. Ukraine is rapidly trying to catch up with the speed of the rest of the world, and is doing the best it can.

Over the last 15 years, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the people of Ukraine are fully engaged in free enterprise, trying to work and earn money. The government is slow in moving ahead. Infrastructure is in dire need of attention and the answer heard is they ran out of budget. Can't wait to get home and "smell the roses".

One more note: The DVD/CD/Karaoke player, music Cd's and DVD movies we bought Ira's class was an overwhelming hit. They all gathered around, hooked up the mike and sang along. It was a sight to see. They preferred the karaoke over playing a movie!!! It turned out to be the best gift idea of all (and very affordable).

4/22/07 - Weekend of joy...

We were busy this weekend starting Friday. We spent some time with the Orphanage Director (Vera). We asked what we could do for the orphanage. She wanted a curtain for a stage that they use to do small productions and some help buying some English books. We gave her a personal gift and she was more than grateful. She also said we could have Irina the entire 10 days after court. Wow! We found out that she, too, was an orphan and from the same orphanage... shocking. Her son is a pro soccer player somewhere in Ukraine. Now we understand where the compassion comes from.

Court is Tuesday. Debbie will leave by train Wednesday morning for Kyiv and fly home this week. The 10 days ends on a Friday (5/3) and the decree goes into effect Saturday. That will make it 12 days before we can get the new birth certificate and passport (couple of day venture with signatures, notary and stamps). Then we can go to Kyiv for the medical and visa at the US embassy. There happens to be two, 2 day holidays (5/1 & 5/2 - May day and 5/9 & 5/10 - Veterans day) that could become more than 2 days depending... We would love to be coming home by 5/11 at the latest, but that is not a given at this point.

We were able to bring Ira back with us Friday night and keep her for the weekend. Before we left the orphanage, we presented her #1 teacher with a gift (portable washing machine she wanted). She loved it and had all the kids stand around for pictures. Saturday, we went to see her grandfather and presented some gifts (new color TV and a new chain saw). He was very happy to see us and overwhelmed. I put the saw together and demoed the proper use, etc. He brought out a couple of logs and we cut them like butter!. Not only is he excited but felt he could make money with the forestry department in the summer helping to clear wood in the forest behind his property. We were "treated" to a very humbling experience when we went into his 2 room home. It was beyond description and hard to believe. No running water or indoor plumbing of any kind. We were all invited to visit his mother (Ira's great grandmother) in the village. She is 90 years old. What a sweet, kind woman. She was most pleased that we are adopting Ira. Her home was also humbling. These people live at the very bottom of the economic scale but are proud and hard working. Most labor we do is with machines, they are done here by hand. We ate on the way back, Ira did some more English homework & listened to some Russian music. Today we tried to do some more shopping in this gigantic shopping indoor/outdoor mall to get some more clothes for Ira. We bought a few things so I could provide a change of clothes while we are together for the 10 days and return home. We will go to Donetsk for most of the 10 days (4.5 hours away). It's a big city and with a super sized soccer stadium (the owner is a billionaire).

Sharon will be heading back to Kyiv tomorrow and will be home Tuesday. Now we have to clean up the mess of lonely single men she has left behind with broken hearts.

We have a lot more unbelievable pictures. We will put them all online (Snapfish) when we get home.

Pic 1 - In the woods with Ira and grandfather; Pic 2 - Orphanage Director (Vera); Pic 3 - Chainsaw demo; Pic 4 - Ira, grandfather, great aunt (grandfather's sister), great grandmother

4/20/07 - Getting ready for the weekend...

Good day yesterday. Did some orphanage shopping and got quite a bit done. A little bit more and we should be good to go... Spent a couple hours with Ira yesterday (more English). Since we plan to pay her grandfather a visit tomorrow with some gifts, Ira's teacher suggested we take her for the night so we could go directly in the morning to her grandfather's. Ira is very positive about doing that as we are happy about it too. When we got back to our flat, Sharon had an anniversary gift waiting for us: Bouquet of roses, chocolates and an anniversary card (written in Ukrainian - could have said condolences and we would not have known the difference). It was totally unexpected and greatly appreciated. On the way to the orphanage yesterday we had to see a notary (another short 2.5 hour event!!!) to have Debbie give me power of attorney on the follow-up actions after court. We found out from Kyiv that our documents were accepted and approved by the SDA and would be picked up and returned on tonight's train. If Sergey can arrange it, we may be able to go to court Monday instead of of Tuesday. We are praying for that but the worst case is another day. We had a great meal and good time at a different restaurant last evening. The name of the place is "Fidele's" It was Spanish motif, played soft music and the food was great. All of us agreed it was the best we have had since coming to Ukraine. The had a jazz band (smooth jazz) come in around 9 PM and they played great music. The singer was great. She sang all her songs in English, but was fluent in Ukrainian. After we walked back to our flat, we had some ice cream and watched a movie, which put me to sleep (what else is new?). Debbie is looking forward to her return next week but wishes we could all come home together. I will try to get the orphanage director to allow Ira to leave for a few days with me to Donetsk with Sergey, to see some more of her country, possibly see a soccer game and sight see.

Pic 1 - Open meat market in Kharkiv (more about that when we see you, the FDA would have a field day!); Pic 2 - English lesson with Ira.

4/19/07 - 27 Years and counting!

Today we celebrate our 27th anniversary. We will do some shopping, see Ira and go out to dinner someplace... But first we would like to pay our respects as a result of the tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech this past week. We are void of the news most of the time except from e-mails. Sharon, as most know is a Tech alum, has been inundated with e-mails about the entire situation. Although this event by a "crazy" happened at Tech, we are sure that everyone must feel that this could have happened on any campus in America. The big question is how do you prevent this sort of thing? Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and friends directly affected and to all those trying to deal with this catastrophe. We know the country is united in paying special homage to this terrible act.

Yesterday Sharon got a Ukraine haircut ($3.50 USD). She wanted to fit in better and see what might come her way. We thought she had great courage! Debbie considered getting her hair color touched up, but not gutsy enough, no matter the price! Hair colors here are quite eccentric, with colors from blond to red and stripes, patches and everything in-between! Much emphasis on appearance here with hair, clothes and trim figures. It's rare to find any young people overweight. Sharon even tried trolling at McDonald's again, in case she might possibly encounter a bi-lingual. But, again, no luck. Oh well! The quest continues...

We spent some time with Ira and were surprised at her abilities to talk and respond to some basic English. She has been studying and is proud to show us her skills. More today when we see her. The daily visits definitely help build our bond.

Pic.1 - Ira at our flat on Sunday; Pic. 2 - New soccer balls for Sasha and Yura; Pic 3 - Sharon's haircut - Ukraine style!

4/18/07 - Hanging out, sort of...

We have a slight lull. We found that our documents made it back to Kyiv yesterday and were submitted to the SDA today. We are again asking for some Divine intervention to move things along quickly so we can get to court and start our 10 day count down. Sergey has a meeting with the regional passport agency today to ensure all of what needs to be in place after the 10 days is done, to minimize further delays. We spent a few hours at the orphanage with Irina yesterday. Sergey helped us provide some English lessons so it will be easier for Irina & I the last few days here to be able to communicate at least at a basic level. She is trying and will need some additional practice. Of course, it will be easier over time after hearing the same phases over and over again. Ira knows about the coming court date and indicated she is nervous about it. She was reassured that we would be together and that will comfort her. The judge will basically ask her if this is what she wants and if she is going with us on her own free will. As anticipative as she might be, we are sure she is having a lot of anxiety of the unknown and being taken out of her comfort zone. She asked Sergey if she will have an interpreter waiting for her when she arrives in the US... She has had a lot of encouragement from her teachers that this is the best thing for her and the opportunities are too great to pass up. They have been so supportive and caring. That is a blessing. We pray and thank God every day and ask for His continued blessings. On one hand the road ahead seems to be getting clearer, but on the other hand we remain cautious, based on our experiences so far. We take nothing for granted, we just keep on praying. We seem to expect the unexpected! We plan to see Ira after school this afternoon. We need to do some gift shopping yet for the orphanage and the other kids in her group. An update on Sharon: We just can't seem to find anyone suitable to meet her standards, no matter the scent! Tomorrow will mark Debbie and my 27th anniversary. See that, even a kind and gentle person can tolerate an Ogre, just ask Shrek!!! - Dale

Pic. 1 - Cooking in our apartment; Pic 2 - The tram (trolley)

4/17/07 - The Longest Day!!!

Yesterday started out looking like we had to get one signature from the local inspector (conclusion) and submit our request for a court date to the local judge and then send our package on a train to Kyiv for the SDA approvals and turnaround. Well, 12 hours and a whole lot of nerves later we had what was needed. No thanks to the judge (woman) for putting undo pressure and being very fussy in sticking to the letter of the law. She was demanding that the grandfather be present at the court even though he signed off with a notary on giving his granddaughter his blessing to leave with us. Also she initially stated that we had to come to court twice (which is what the law requires although not done in many other regions). She also demanded that we go out and make 4 copies of all the documents before she would even talk to Sergey or set a date for court. She also said she wouldn't set a date until the documents came back from Kyiv. The game got worse until the special envelop with the "motivation" caused a change of heart and a whole lot of things got done after hours. Now we are down to one court date (Tuesday 4/24) if the paperwork gets back on time, or 4/26 if a delay in the paperwork. This has been an uphill battle thus far and we can only look past the court date, the 10 day wait and the final paperwork (new birth certificate, passport, medical and visa), then home. Debbie could be home by the end of next week and I will be home in 3 more weeks if all of the above happens without further undo hassles. We got back into town last night around 9:30, ate at a McDonald's by the train station and walked over to the train station and sent off our package.

Sharon met another potential mate the other day while waiting to have our washing machine fixed in our flat. The guy who came to do the work was a dashing specimen but exuded the scent of an aged salami and that put a pause (halt) in her pursuit. We have a couple days break before our next flurry. Ira spent the day with us Sunday. We bought a couple of new outfits, new shoes all of which were very appealing to her. We stopped for pizza (rather good compared to the one we had the other day at another place. That was Ira's 1st pizza. She also had an espresso coffee, also a first for her. She saw a movie in our flat (Shrek - Russian version) and had a bubble bath. She still had a lingering cold and was not up to par. Speaking of par, I could sure use a round of golf right about now! After taking Ira back we noted some envy by her friends and now can only do one thing - find something for each of them (9 girls & 7 boys)!

We are on the hunt to find a male friend for Sharon, possibly one she could "adopt" and bring home. He may need a bubble bath and new threads, but we look at is as another attempt to reach out helping someone. After all, she said she needed a pool boy. - Dale

Our 12 hour day yesterday, spent primarily in Sergey's car, while Sergey worked his magic. During a quick break to grab a bite to eat, we stopped at the local town mini-mart, about the size of our garage. They were using an abacus for a cash register, which really puts things in perspective! - Debbie

Pic 1 - New outfit; Pic 2 - Pizza time; Pic 3 - Looking for new clothes; Pic 4 - Return to the orphanage with Ira friends (some envy showed) .