It is finished.

February 24, 2010

I am sitting on the floor in a three bedroom apartment with four adults and six boys. We are all either parents or sons, officially and by the grace of God. It has been a fruitful day.
We were up early and out the door before eight to get to the American Embassy. Since we are American citizens, we move to the front of the line and go right through to the security check. It looked like we were the only three families utilizing the adoption windows so we moved through pretty fast. Before they would complete the visa application, we had to get each boy a physical exam. That required getting back into the taxi and driving across town. We had more waiting, along with a lot of other people leaving Ukraine for Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or the US. The boys checked out okay, then back to the embassy with the appropriate paperwork. More waiting……the process was completed at 4pm. We have visas, passports, and our sons.

Wednesday came on the heels of a very busy Tuesday. After we finally got our passports at 10:30 p.m., we headed to the first orphanage. It took 45 minutes to get all the paperwork completed and personal items collected. The five boys had to be awakened as they had been put to bed since we were running so far behind. We got to Mitchell’s orphanage at 11:50 p.m. He was awake and the paperwork didn’t take long, thankfully. We had rented a shuttle bus that had room to accommodate all of our luggage and people (11) so the bumpy ride north was tolerable. We arrived in Kiev at 2:30 a.m. The two men lugged all the luggage up three flights of stairs. We had lights out a little after 3 a.m.

I am weary but rejoicing. These boys will grow up to be good men. They are loved and valued for being God’s creation. Our sons are delightful. Mitchell was a huge help today with the younger more energetic boys. His maturity and poise is heart-warming to watch.
He looks out for his little bother and encourages him to do what is right. Garret is coming out of his shell. He talks a lot and I have no clue what he is saying. Last night the brothers sat next to each other on the bus. It was the first they had seen each other in over a month. I would have loved to know what their conversation was about. It went on for a long time, a dialogue between two brothers starting a new life. Yes, I have seen defiance and I know there will challenges but just as God has been with us through this adventure, he will be with us for the future ones.

Thursday will be a play day. We have no place to go and no place to be. My plan is to walk around the city and let the boys enjoy this town. It will be an early night as we have to be at the airport by 3:30 A.M. on Friday morn.