First round of court is completed

Court today was a success. The whole day was so different from last summer when tears were shed on the way to court, during court, and after court. The sun came out today and so did the smiles. Vicka was very composed and calmly answered all the questions asked of her. When she was finished, she sat down with a smile and sigh of relief.

Because of the missing document, court must be reconvened before the final decree can be entered. But at least we have overcome the first hurdle.

We had the same judge, same jurors, same inspector three times in a row so we asked them all to be in the photo this time!

No clearances this week

We have been told that no clearances came in this week. That means we will only be having a prelminary hearing on Wednesday. But at least we can come home for a while. We miss the rest of the children and it is a blessing that only one of us will have to return to complete court.

Vicka and I have been working on a 1500 piece jigsaw puzzle and we are planning several outings for the weekend. We are very blessed to have Linda with us now.

Not much new going on here. We just sort of hang out till about 1:00 everyday when we head to Bela. Today we played UNO with Vicka and her friend. I called my friend Linda Tur in Kyiv and asked her to come out and be a translator for us. Vicka is so shy about communicating that I thought it would be good to have Linda around. She will arrive in the morning.

Still no Interpol clearance and still no Vitalik. But to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think....to Him be the glory......forever and ever.

We have a court date

No, the Interpol Clearance did not come but even if it is not here by Wednesday, February 24th, we will have court that day. Worse case scenario is that the clearance will still be missing, the hearing will be considered preliminary and we will be able to go home with only one of us required to return to finish up the process after the clearance does come in.

We took Vicka with us to meet with the judge today. Yes, it was an informal meeting but she tackled it with courage and strength. She led the way into the building and up the stairs. She answered the judges questions with smiles instead of tears. I was a proud mama.

No Interpol Clearance today

The SDA said it has not received any new clearances since Thursday. Apparently, there is no schedule for when they are delivered to the SDA. We needed ours by tomorrow in order to be able to have court this week. Due to our family situation, we will need to come home if the clearance does not come in tomorrow. We will ask to schedule court a few weeks later, to give the clearance time to come in and for us to make new arrangements for our other children.

We had to do some paperwork today and did not get to visit with Vicka but we plan to go visit with her after school tomorrow. A friend called and asked if we were interested in helping with the recording of an English-learning CD so we will be doing that tomorrow morning. Sounds like fun.

A nice weekend

We have had a nice weekend with Vicka. Saturday we went to the orphanage for the Valentine's Day party with Shane and Marilyn and the kids. We've been eating at the same restaurants we ate at last summer, mostly because we know how to order there. Sergey, our driver, has been acting as our translator when needed. He was also the one who drove us on that 4-hour round trip to Starribilsk last summer. He has an emotional stake in this adoption as well! Vicka is happy and at ease. We visited with Maxim some this weekend. His grandmother is always such a sweet hostess.

Still no interpol clearance. Hoping it will come by Wednesday.

Z

First Day in Lugansk

We got our referral yesterday. We arrived in Lugansk at 11:00 pm. We met with the inspector this morning and were at Bela by 10:00. All is well.

We had dinner with Shane and Marilyn and celebrated Vicka's 16th birthday which was the 6th.

SDA Appointment

The SDA appointment went well. We were asked how to explain how we knew Vicka and then we were read her file yet again. It was a good testimony to the girls in the SDA office to hear we were back after what happened last summer.


After the appointment, Gabe and I browsed the souvenirs. I was dying to have one of these Soviet style hats so Gabe obliged.


Then we had lunch with Sasha at Soho steakhouse and discussed what to do about Vitalik. We will pick up our referral tomorrow and take the 9:30 pm flight to Lugansk. We will be doing paperwork on Friday then decide at that point whether to wiat on the Interpol clearance here or at home.

SDA Appointment tomorrow

I made it to Kyiv with no trouble. Gabe and I enjoyed dinner at the Italian restaurant next to Fridays then walked around enjoying the snow. Its cold, but not unbearably.

I haven't seen Vitalik since arriving, but then again, neither has Gabe seen much of him. This has been the difficult part of this trip. The pull of the past on our son has been more than he could bear. Pray for him.

2nd Mission Finally Accomplished

The affidavit requesting the Interpol Clearance could only be filed on Monday. So it has been filed. Gabe said all the facilitators were there at the SDA waiting on clearances that had been promised this week for the families that are already there. The clearances were not yet available. It has been 2 weeks since they implemented this requirement so chances are we will not get our clearance within 2 weeks. Unless things improve, looks like we might be coming home to wait on the clearances and then going back for court.

First Mission Accomplished

Gabe and Vitalik made it to Kyiv. They flew through Atlanta and Paris. They say it is cold and snowing. They are staying across from the Mandarin Plaza as usual but in a different apartment. Gabe filed the I600 at the Embassy first thing. It had to be filed before Monday so we are good to go! Sasha will file the request for Interpol Clearance tomorrow.

The Journey has Begun

Gabe and Vitalik left today at noon. They will arrive in Kyiv tomorrow morning around 11:00. On Friday Sasha will file the affidavit requesting the Interpol clearance and Gabe will file the I600 at the Embassy. I will be leaving on Monday evening, arriving on Tuesday, to join them. Our SDA appointment is Wednesday morning. And I only have a million things to do before then! Prayers for Gabe and Vitalik this week will be GREATLY appreciated!