Four flights and almost 27 hours later we finally made it to Kiev last night around 11:30 pm. Talk about exhaustion! The best part is that our luggage made it as well!
We are staying in a very nice furnished apartment in the center of Kiev next to Independence Square and the underground mall. There is also a McDonalds and a TGI Fridays right down the street! We haven't had the chance to get out and explore as much as we would like as we had to wait around the apartment this morning to find out what time our appointment would be (our facilitator had forgotten to bring our cell phone to the airport last night, so we had to wait for the call on our apartment phone). We got the call around 1 pm that our appointment was scheduled for 3:00. We met our facilitator at 2:30 and drove to the SDA. Our appointment took less than 10 minutes since we are adopting a known child. They showed us Evan's file (which included a very cute picture of him at 6 months old) and told us a little about his birth mother (father unknown) and his medical condition. We should have all of the necessary paperwork by 5 pm tomorrow and it looks like we will be taking the train to Donetsk tomorrow night. If all goes as planned (I hope I didn't just jinx myself by using that term) we should be meeting Evan on Friday! I cannot wait!
We are planning to spend tomorrow exploring Kiev! It is a fascinating place and we are excited to really experience it! The internet is much more accessible in Ukraine than it was in Uzbekistan, so I hope to update frequently. Again, we appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers coming our way. Keep 'em coming!
5 comments:
Are you enjoying your peace and quiet? I can't imagine what that would be like to have 3 weeks in a foreign country without kids! I guess I'll find out soon enough. We are so excited to hear all about Evan!! What a wonderful family he will belong to!
So glad you're finally there! I can't wait to hear that you have that beautiful little boy! Best wishes for a wonderful trip!
Hooray, hooray!!! I will email Inna immediatetly and tell her to expect you Friday (and get that boy of yours out of the goofy girly clothes they sometimes put them in in orphanages - so his Dad is not embarrassed!! Haha!) I am SO thrilled - I have goosebumps!!! The baby house has Internet access now, so perhaps Inna will let you post from there - I don't know, but maybe! OOOOOH! Can't WAIT until you meet Evan!! WHOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO! Can you tell I am excited???!!! - Kelly
Hi Valerie
Hope the weather holds up. It was in the 60's here today but tonite it is going to get COLD. Have a nice UA Thanksgiving together. Next year you will be a family of seven!!
Happy Thanksgiving and we will give you and your family a special prayer~
Hi rich and Val, I'm glad you made it to Kiev and that things are falling into place. I'm glad, too, that you will have a chance to tour around Kiev. I have a book written by the Ukranian writer Mikhail Bulgakov, The White Guard -- takes place in Kiev in 1918 -- Bolshevik revolution, the opening paragraphs (which you can read on Amazon, begin with a description of a funeral winding its way throught he street to a famous church - which you will probably visit -- one of many
Anyway, I'm here safely in your home -- your Mom helped me put the kids to bed. I'm so happy to see Joshua and get to know him. He is a beautiful little boy. Its also great to see Jacob, Lukas and Maren again -- we read stories and tucked them into bed.
Yes, you should find internet cafes everywhere in the larger cities there. So we wil enjoy your blogs!
I've read thoroughly the notes you left which are a agreat help.
Happy thanksgiving!!
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