We're in Amsterdam!

We are finally over the long flight and arrived in Amsterdam at 9am this morning....3am for you guys. Airport is nice but very big. We had to walk well across the entire airport to find out that we cannot sit at the gate until they are ready to board. Each gate has it's own security check point and they are all enclosed in glass!! so we had some time to spare and decided to check in with everyone. Our flight leaves for Ukraine at 12:35 and we will arrive in Kiev around 4:30. The flight here was great! We had great seating and video monitors in the seats so we could listen to music, watch movies and play games. We slept a good part of the last half of the flight so it went pretty smooth. Hope it goes that well on the way home with the little one :O)

We just wanted to check in and let everyone know that we are doing great, and so far, everything is looking on the bright side. We will post again probably tomorrow from Kiev.

Last night home

Well this is it. Our last night home as just husband and wife. I am sitting here collecting my thoughts for the first time all day and I think it is finally starting to sink in. The moment we have been anticipating for 2 years is finally here. We are going to become a family.

For the past 2 years all I kept thinking was how excited I was going to be at this moment. I got such anxiety just thinking about it....but, strangely enough, during these past 2 weeks I have been calmer then I have been since this whole process started. I guess I just don't find a reason to be scared or nervous. I have learned and studied so much about the adoption, Ukraine, what to expect, what could go wrong... all I have done is prepare!! I am ready -

We leave tomorrow evening and will arrive in Ukraine, late Saturday afternoon. I will do my best to post Sunday. If for some reason, it is not possible, I will be sure to post Monday night and let you know all about our appointment.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us along the way - now the real journey begins and I am happy to be sharing with all of you!

HOLY COW!!! 3 days and counting. Though I must admit I am still having a lot of trouble getting myself to believe that it is finally happening. NO nerves, no emotional breakdowns yet...nothing! I have been so busy making sure we have everything and making sure the home front is being well taken care of.
The dogs are my main concern right now! I am so worried that they are going to go into depression when we're gone, then to come home with a baby is going to stress them beyond belief. I just keep praying for the best and a smooth transistion. Family and friends are doing great with helping out, but I know that no one is going to care for and spoil our "babies" the way we do!

I am a little worried about the husband too. He is stressing big time! I am doing my best to reassure him that we are going to have a good time and to just relax and enjoy the time we will spend there. I have a feeling that he might experience a bit of culture shock.

This is going to be a big change but it is only going to last a few weeks, then we get to come back and continue living in our comfort. If all of the Ukrainians and our daughter can live their lives there, there is no reason why we can't handle it for a month. I know that this is not a trip to Tahiti but I am really looking forward to it. This is truly an once in a life time opportunity!!

I will be sure to post again before leaving.... just think, 1 week from today I should be posting you the details of the daughter we will be getting ready to meet! FINALLY!

Can you believe we leave next week? It is so strange to finally be able to say "next week"!!! I am a little behind schedule and still have a ton of things to do. But I have the weekend and
Tuesday is my last day at work so I will have 2-3 full days to get things done.

I have still managed to stay relatively calm. The only thing I can think of, is that it just has not "processed" yet or I am just so prepared after waiting for 2 1/2 years that I know everything is going to be o.k.

Everyone has been so supportive...it is good to know we have so many friends and family cheering us on! I truly think we are going to have a good time...cold weather, no hot water, lack of toilets, lack of heat and great Vodka!!! What else could you ask for? LOL!!!
On a serious note, we will lack a few of the luxuries that we have here but we're prepared. One of the girls at work the other day said "who the heck goes to Ukraine?" and I said "WE ARE!!" and we are going to have the time of our lives.

14 days - 2 weeks - 336 more hours!!

Not much is going on! Pretty calm actually. We just finalized our airline tickets today- leaving the 10th of November and scheduled to come home the 17th of December but that can easily change, depending on our progress while there. It is so strange to know that in about 2 weeks we will be meeting our daughter! It is so surreal to think about. I am not too nervous yet but I still have a ton of things to do, so we'll see how I am doing next week :O)

Just 19 more days until we leave!!

The emotions

Today was different!
I am so happy that this is finally happening, but today I was tired....and scared. I did not get any sleep, my mind ran a million miles a minute. I was also wide awake at 5am - which for me, is not common. Getting up anytime before 8am is normally torture to me. (guess I better get use to it) but my mind hasn't stopped all day.

I am very organized and I already have my "lists of things to do". I made it months ago hoping it would come in handy during my days of crisis, but I have no clue where to start!! This weekend is the prep rally!!! I will sit down, lay everything out, and break out the highlighter....away we'll go! At least I hope!!??

Don't give up on those prayers just yet! Believe me, I still em'.

The aftermath...

Things have finally settled for the day! The excitement and overpowering emotion has somewhat subsided....and now the fear and reality sets in!! Oh my God...we are going to be parents in 1 month. You think we would be prepared after waiting 2 years - but this, truefully, is probably one of the scariest days of my life!

We have called most of the family and friends, I am working on a letter to send out so that we don't miss anyone and to give everyone the blog address. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive. Your comments and well wishes were greatly appreciated.

Our daughter is finally coming home!

As I promised!!!!!!!

We are back in the game :O) WOOWHOOO! We finally have an appointment. Jason was very brave and called the Adoption Center (SDA) today and they were kind enough to tell us our date over the phone. We are scheduled for November 13th....that is only 25 days away!! I am so excited, yet so overwhelmed. I don't have a lot of time to fill you in now but I will be to post again soon. Thanks for all prayers...look like He finally heard us.

Recap!!!

O.k. I decided that it is time to recap! Time to go back to when this all started and give a timeline of this ridiculous, yet marvelous journey.

2/2004 Decided to adopt on our 1st anniversary
4/2004 Studied up on various Countries and decided to adopt from Ukraine
5/2004 Had fundraiser raise money for the homestudy
8/2004 Found an agency and started homestudy
2/2005 Agency finally got their stuff together and completed/approved homestudy
3/2005 submitted our complete application to Ukraine
7/2005 Ukraine registered us as adoptive parents and assigned us a registration number
9/2005 Ukraine "closed" down to adoption due to the lack of compliance by Americans for the filing of the post placement reports. No new adoptions. Also announced that there would be changes for the adoption center including directors.
12/2005 Adoption Center closed their doors to switch control over to the new department (known as the State Department of Adoptions; SDA)
1/2006 SDA announced that they would reopen in March
3/2006 SDA understaffed, cannot open until June
6/2006 SDA will open but will not be "working" until July
7/2006 SDA announced that appointments will start in September
8/2006 Letters went out to few families for September appointments
Here we are today....Waiting for our letter of invite for October. Supposely the 23rd. I am praying, but incase you haven't noticed from the timeline above - nothing is predictable.

We are hoping for a girl... Sophia (name is chose)
ages 15months to 5 years

We will get an appointment to go to the SDA, we will meet with officials and they will show us binders of children that meet our request. We will chose one to meet based on history and medical information. We will travel to the orphanage that the child is at and meet her. After spending time with her we will decide to a) adopt her or b) not adopt her and go back to the SDA to chose another. **this is only something that would happen if for some reason she was not available or maybe a lot unhealthier than we were lead to believe**
Once we decide to adopt we will move forward with the paperwork and court dates. During this time we will visit her in the orphanage everyday. Spend time getting use to her, and her, to us. Once we go to court we will then need to stay for 10 more days. After the 10 days we can finally take her out of the orphanage, back to Kiev, visit the US embassy to get her VISA and then HOME!!!

OCTOBER!!!!!!

Orange and black.....maybe that is a sign Aunt Jennifer. Your "favorite" colors right? Also the color of October! October is the month we are bringing Sophia home!!! Before you die of heart attack right now, no we did not get our letter of invite. BUT we did hear from our translator and he said that we fall under the October appointments.

Here is the list that is at the SDA right now....
September - Registration no. 9913-14507
October - Registration no. 14511-15196
November - Registration no. 15196-15717
December - Registration no. 15718-16099

We are number 151**...so that puts us in October. Our translator said that they are suppose to be mailing out the letters for October appointments on August 23rd. I am trying my best to keep my cool because things are known to change in Ukraine at a drop of a hat so I am somewhat reserved about what I hear. Yet my heart is dying with excitement! The 23rd is only next week so pray to God that we get this damn letter. I AM TIRED OF WAITING!! UKRAINE HERE WE COME!!

Poem!

I found this on one of the adoptions chat boards today. Thought I would share it with you..yes my eyes did tear up a little!

Our Miracle
"When they placed you in our arms and we looked into your face,
We felt our hearts melt into one ~
a miracle took place.
Our prayer was finally answered, Though delayed, 'twas not denied ~
The pain of love unanswered, in a moment's time subsides.
God's plan seemed hard to understand.
The circle's now complete.
He placed the heavens in our arms, so precious and so sweet.
Though you grew within another, our souls and yours were one.
We united in God's loving heart before life had begun.
We received a priceless treasure ~
this adopted child we love...
A gift of joy and happiness to us from God above."

No Aunt Jennifer, there is no new news !!! Check back in about 2 weeks!

HAHA.....
No new news yet... but August is just around the corner. Everyone in the Ukrainian adoption world is buzzing about chatting about "When the first appointment letter will come?" "Who will be the first to go?". According to the SDA press release they were going to start mailing out the appointment letters the 1st of August. We'll see how true to their word they are this time around. I will post the second I get some news, though I will probably be on the phone jumping up and down screaming to all of the family anyway.
My heart is skipping a beat just thinking about it....I just can't wait for our "due day" it will finally happen for us.

Finally some progress!!!

Here is the latest about the opening of the new State Department of Adoption (aka SDA) this may sound frustrating to you because we still have a few months to wait, but actually this is great news.

Opening of New Adoption Authority in Ukraine - July 3, 2006

Dear Members of the American Adoption Community Interested in Ukraine: On July 3, 2006 the Minister for Family, Youth and Sports, Yuriy Pavlenko, held a press conference to announce the official opening of the new adoption authority, to be known as the State Department for Adoption and Protection of Rights of the Child (SDAPRC), and to outline his ministryÂ’s policies related to the protection of childrenÂ’s rights. Minister Pavlenko reported that the previous central adoption authority (the National Adoption Center under the Ministry of Education) had been dissolved, and stressed that the SDAPRC is completely separate from the previous system.

The Embassy has assembled the following information for Americans who wish to adopt in Ukraine. Americans with more detailed questions should contact us directly at: adoptionskiev@state.gov

Q: When will the new adoption authority start accepting new adoption dossiers?
A: Pavlenko made clear that the SDAPRC will accept NO new adoption dossiers from non-Ukrainian adoptive parents before January 1, 2007. This applies to ALL intercountry adoptions, including applications for biological siblings of previously adopted children. According to Pavlenko, this is not a moratorium but a temporary suspension to allow complete reform of Ukraine’s child welfare and adoptions system. If a prospective adopted child is about to “age-out” (i.e., the child will turn 16 years old in 2006), please contact our office at: adoptionskiev@state.gov


Q: We have one of these NAC registration numbers. What should we do now?
A: All registered families are asked to submit new applications to affirm their intention to adopt in Ukraine. This application should be done in the same way as the one previously submitted to the NAC with their original dossiers, but should now be addressed to the new adoption authority and sent via regular or courier mail service directly to the following address: Ms. Ludmyla Volynets Director State Department for Adoption and Protection of Rights of the Child Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports 14 Desiatinna Street Kiev 01025 Ukraine Only original, notarized and apostilled applications, accompanied by a Ukrainian translation, will be accepted. An English-language sample application will be posted on the Embassy web site soon.

Q: When will the families who registered with the old adoption authority have their appointments?
A: During July and August of 2006 the new adoption authority will complete the scheduling of adoption appointments for registered families that have confirmed their intention to adopt from Ukraine. The appointments for registered families will begin after September 1, 2006.

Q: Is there any new information about the availability of children for intercountry adoption?
A: According to the Ministry, only 16% of all adoptable Ukrainian children are under five years old and relatively healthy. At the same time, 50% of all the U.S. prospective adopting families have indicated specific interest in this category of children.

*Our registration number is 15101. Supposedly they will be starting with family 14300 and will be seeing 75 families per week. If you calculate this and assume that there are no families missing in-between (which I will explain in a minute) that will put us 10 weeks into the scheduling which starts September 1.
Now because of the old corrupt center.... Families were not seen in order of thier registration number, they were seen in the order of who had the most money realisticaly there will be some families who have registration numbers between 14300 and (ours) 15101 who have already traveled. Also there are several families who have pulled out during this exhausting wait.

I am HOPING and thinking maybe early October :O) This couldn't be better news!!!

When o' when

Dear Members of the American Adoption Community Interested in Ukraine:

The Embassy has received a diplomatic note dated June 6, 2006 from the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine noting the new adoption authority, the State Department for Adoption and Protection of Rights of the Child will open in July 2006. The Embassy will continue to track the transition and other adoption-related issues closely, and will provide updates as appropriate by e-mail and on our webpage: http://kiev.usembassy.gov/. Any American adopting parents who would like to be added to our e-mail list are welcome to contact us at adoptionskiev@state.gov.

expect delays....

The new National Adoption Centre in Ukraine is moving slowly in terms of getting their administrative functioning under control. They are definitely "under construction" as far as staffing is concerned. The new administration did not re-hire any of their old staff, so there will be a need for training their new employees. At present, the Adoption Centre in Kyiv is not accepting any dossiers. The news that we received yesterday is that they will start accepting dossiers (including updated dossiers) in July 2006 and will most likely start allocating travel dates for September,and as late as January 2007. The AC stopped accepting dossiers in April. I am sorry to say that we should expect delays....

Wait...Wait...Wait!!!

LATEST NEWS ON UKRAINE ADOPTIONS
Posted May 16, 2006
NEW DEPARTMENT PROJECTED TO OPEN ON JUNE 20
The new State Department for Adoption is still currently closed forpublic. It is technically open – they are hiring and training newstaff and setting up their internal procedures, but it is still closedto the public. No new dossiers are being registered and no travel appointments arebeing scheduled. The good news is that an unofficial date has beenannounced for when it will re-open to the public, and that date isJune 20, 2006. The new State Department for Adoption projects that on that date theywill begin accepting new dossiers and assigning travel appointments.At this time there is still no information whether the new office willalter any of the policies that the old National Adoption Center had.We will have to wait for the new office to open to receive thatinformation.This was posted onhttp://www.commonwealthadoption.org/international-adoption-ukraine.php

Remembering Chernobyl 20 years later.

On April 26, 1986, reactor #4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, 100 km north from Kyiv, exploded during a routine daily operation.

In the early morning hours of April 26, 1986, reactor No. 4 was operating at very low capacity (6 - 7 percent) during a planned shutdown. Plant personnel intended to monitor the performance of turbine generators, which supplied electric power for the plant's own operation, during a changeover from standard to a backup source of power.

The reactor's design made it unstable at low power, and the operators were careless about safety precautions during the test. After a sudden power surge, two explosions destroyed the reactor core and blasted a large hole in the roof of the reactor building. Radioactive debris moved up through this hole to heights of 1 km (0.6 mi), carried by a strong updraft. Fires caused by the explosion and the heat of the reactor core fed the updraft.

Nearly 9 tons of radioactive material - 90 times as much as the Hiroshima bomb - were hurled into the sky. Over the following days, winds that were blowing mostly north and west, carried the fallout into Belarus, as well as Russia, Poland and the Baltic region. The radioactive fallout affected 23% of Belarus, with 4.8% of Ukrainian territory and 0.5% of Russian land exposed. About 200,000 people were evacuated from a 30-km radius around the plant, with the peripheral areas remaining at a high risk of radioactive exposure. The reactor was enclosed in a concrete-and-steel sarcophagus. Over the following years about 600,000 people known as "the liquidators" worked on the clean-up operations inside the 30-km zone.Although scientists agree that there is no risk of the sarcophagus exploding, the status of the estimated 180 tons of radioactive material trapped inside the nuclear power plant is still unclear.There are many commemorative events scheduled during the month of April which I encourage all of you to participate in. If you have any information that you'd like to share with the group, please list your info here!

New director appointed!

As expected, a new director has just been appointed for the newly created SDA (State Department of Adoption and Defense of Children ' s rights):
Her name is Ludmila Volinets
Address of the SDA:Desiatinna street nr 14, 01025 Kyiv
The vice directors of SDA are : Mr Hritsenko Fedir Volodimirovitch Mrs Duchaeva Ludmila Gnativna (responsible for the Departement of Custody and family placement of children)

Here is some more information about Mrs Volinets, the newly appointed SDA director....
She has been working for the NGO "Hope and Home for Children", which has been trying to establish family type homes for abandoned children in Ukraine, with the help of British ONG.

Mrs Volinets is from Odessa and holds a PhD in Political Sciences and is coming from Odessa. Her PhD research was on the demographical crisis during the transition in Ukraine.

She is well known in Ukraine for her project with this ONG, and her efforts to try to build a Center that helps young mothers who are determined to abandon their children in Kherson. As you imagine, maternity wards in Ukraine don't even have a psychologist on the premises, so young mothers are really left alone with this decision and have no help. Also women have their first child much younger than in Western Countries so we are talking about young girls with often unwanted pregnancies.

In 2002 Mrs. Volinets coordinated an inquiry about the mothers who abandon their children in the Kherson region. This is the only such inquiry in Ukraine. Thereafter she planned this Center to help them.

She is known to be very professional and well informed about child abandonment in Ukraine. She wants to change things and certainly try to prevent children to be abandoned.

don't forget the new SDA is a State department for adoption but also for the Defense of children's Rights and she certainly will work on less children be abandoned in Ukraine. You can find material on her and the ONG on the internet and on Ukrainian media. This is a choice that is in favor of the children and against corruption. Let's welcome the decision of the government to nominate such a person as the head of SDA.

Ukraine in the Summer

Looks like we might be enjoying the beautiful Ukrainian summers. We still do not have an appointment but the NAC is not suppose to be giving out any new appoint dates until after the opening of the new Center in May. If I want to take a guess at when we might be going, I am going to say June! Hopefully not much later than that. I can barely deal with Michigan summers without my central air. I do not want to experience a foreign country with out air or screens in the windows. YIKES!!! I suppose I should quit my bitching and just be happy at the fact that I get to go. We have had to redo all of our paper work, just like we are starting our adoption for the first time again. What fun! We will keep you posted as information comes in, but do not look for anything any time soon!