Halfway to Home

Half of us returned home late last night. My and Trev's plane arrived at DTW 1-1/2 hours late and by the time we got home and into bed it was 1am Detroit Time-8am the next morning Ukraine time. Our trip from the time we got on the train until we got home was 37 hours. It was exhausting. I spoke to D this morning to let him know we got home ok. Their trip won't be quite as exhausting since they will stay in Kiev at least 2 days to process the paperwork. They will have a break between the 13 hour train and 10 hour plane ride. The train car we were in was nicer than the one on the way in. On the way in the car was old and dirty, the one on the way out was a little newer and definitely cleaner. As Trev would say...not as scary. Even the people riding in the other rooms seemed nicer. It was a very bumpy ride. We booked a room like we had on the way in...only it was only Trev and me. That way we did not have anyone else in the room with us and we could secure the door while we slept. We were playing card and had left the top bunks folded up...when we hit a big bump and the bunk above my head fell. Luckily they also are secured by a chain on one end or it would have landed on my head. Trev went to get the attendant...He told her "Nyet Ruski..come" and motioned with his hand. She totally understood him and came to look. It was too heavy for her and I to fix, and a few minutes later a man came and took care of it. Trev was happy when our airport transfer car was a BMW sedan. It was by far the nicest car we rode in while we were there. The driver was in a hurry so it was also the fastest we had rode while we were there...160 Kilometers...you do the math. But it was a smooth ride...none of the standard potholes. The Kiev airport was small by our standards. I didn't remember much about coming in there because we were in such a hurry to get to our rescheduled appointment. They started boarding until 1/2 hour before the flight was scheduled to leave. It was interesting people watching though. They had flights leaving for Milan, Banai, Sweden, and flights in from Tel-Aviv, and China. Well, I will write more later...although I will be talking to most of you soon. Love Sue

Introducing The Pode Brothers

Today was court and the judge approved the adoption. K will now be known as Konstantin Pode or as we call him, Kostya Pode. Unfortunately, while the children's house representative and the social worker endorsed our request for immediate execution, and while the judge and the prosecutor agreed that we had good reason...due to the current auditing situation, they were unable to grant the immediate execution and unable to waive the 10 day waiting period. Bummer. It was definitely a bittersweet afternoon. We have been waiting 1-1/2 years, so the extra 10 days shouldn't be a big deal...just a disappointment. We were hoping to leave court today and be heading home with both of our boys. sigh!!!!
By the time we were done with court, it was already 4pm. Then it was off to find a photographer to take kostya's new passport photo. The photo shop had a candy jar on the counter and between Trevor, Little Kostya, Big K, and Dad, I think it was emptied by the time we left. Since we had Kostya, we went out to dinner before we had to take him back to the orphanage. (He will not be able to leave the orphanage until the final decree is signed at the end of the 10 days, which is April 8.) The choice for dinner was the pizzeria that has the playscape. Since it was Friday night, it was very crowded and must have been "the place" to be. We took Kostya back to the orphanage about 7pm.
While we were hoping the 10 days would be waived, we also talked about what we would do if they weren't waived. Trevor and I will be returning home and Dad will be staying here until he can take possession of Kostya and come home. It was a hard decision to make, but Trevor needs to get back to school and I have paperwork and things that need to be done both at home and work. Trevor was becoming bored and a little frustrated at only being able to see Kostya at certain times each day. He doesn't understand why he has to stay at the orphanage when we have been made his family. I understand the legal reasonings, but it really doesn't make sense to me either. So we wait...and hope the next 10 days fly by.
I have been online checking out available flights for Trevor and me. We originally were scheduled to fly out Sunday night, but since court was on Friday and I have things to sign at the US Embassy in Kiev before I leave, we are trying to fly out on Tuesday. If things work as planned...we should be home late Tuesday night. I told Trevor I will not make him go to school on Weds, especially since we will not get home until after midnight. Tomorrow I will sign the orphanage release papers. Big k has said he will play soccer with the boys again before we have to leave, so maybe we will do that tomorrow. I have forms to download from the Embassy so I can get them ready for D, so we will be off to the internet cafe tomorrow. That is the only place with a printer.
Trevor is a little worried about D so I will be leaving a lot of detailed lists for D to follow. Anyone who know us knows that I am the details person and D is the go-along one. He hasn't even learned how to use the cell phone we were provided. He will need to know how to get online so he can email us. He will need to cook if he is going to eat...there are no McD's or Arby's on the corner. I am certain he is capable, but we have not been apart this long since we were married almost 13 years ago. He will need to know how to use the washing machine(lol). There are lots of lists to be made before Trev and I leave.
I am posting a picture of Trevor and Kostya...now that the court had made its decision, I am able to post a picture of his face.
I will write more soon.

It's Spring Here

Well we went from snow in syracuse to 70 degrees in Ukraine. The weather is wonderful. It was a little windy today, but we really didn't even need jackets today.
Our water was shut off early this am and it just went back on about 8:30pm. I thought since it was not on by 7pm, that we would not have water until tomorrow.
Our court date is in a few days, and we are asking everyone to be in agreement in prayer with us for 'immediate execution' of the adoption order. It seems weird the 'immediate execution' thing being that we are in a former soviet region....I'm sure those words meant other things in times past.
Our facilitator has spoken a little about growing up in the Soviet Union. He was in college by the time the red curtain fell, so I'm sure he has a lot of memories of what it was like. I hope to be able to get some insight before we leave. I do know that until 1989 or 1990, Sunday worship services were non existent. I think all christian worship services under the Soviet Union had to be underground...they were simply not allowed to be practicing christians. Even now, I think the majority of christians are strict orthodox. I think being a born-again christian is still a very radical thing to be. O has been ill as of late, but she also has been reading The Authority of the Believer. I hope she applies what she is reading. I will be seeing her tomorrow. She has expressed an interest in the teaching CD's I brought with me. I will leave them with her. There is a lot for their church to do here. (the harvest here truly is ripe)so they need to understand and learn to exercise their authority.
With all the poverty around, we are noticing progress. There are some buildings being renovated, and some storefronts being remodeled. The infastructure is going to be a huge problem, but we do see some signs of improvement and can only hope, for those people living her, that the future is brighter, and improvements continue. Now that it is spring, it is easy to see that while they do not have much, they do try to take care of what they have. there are flowers coming up everywhere, and spring clean up is taking place everywhere we look. they even have crews that shovel the mud that accumulates along the curbs, and clean the streets by hand. Big piles of raked leaves are everywhere...i wonder if a big truck will come by and pick them up.
Big K had an adoption for another couple not go through. They had traveled "blind" for a young child, and received a referral for a 2-1/2 year old girl. they went to see her, but did not pursue adopting her due to the girl's medical needs. Seems she was born with club feet, and the couple did not believe they could handle her needs. K seemed very disappointed, because she needs surgery on her feet within the next 6 months, or she will be like that for the rest of her life and not be able to walk. Because she is in a orphanage, they will not spend the money needed to give her the surgery here. They will wait for a family to adopt her and assume the responsibility, or allow her to remain like that. Please pray for her...P.
Well, thats all for now. I will try to add more pictures soon.

Little K's Day Out

Well we got to spring Little K from the orphanage for the day on Sunday. Our facilitator made arrangements for us to take him to church with us, out for lunch and he didn't have to be back until dinner time. After the day we had, he was probably tired enough to go back and go to sleep.

He didn't know we were taking him until we showed up to get him, what a surprise. When we got to church, he realized he knew the youth director, she had taught english at the orphanage for awhile. He felt very comfortable, and T was very happy to have him out.

After church, it was a nice day, so the boys played on the little playground behind the building that houses the church. It was built by the Pastor from the states who started the church. They are also(with the help of a sponser) refurbishing another building to be a private baby orphanage. They plan on having it ready for occupancy in about June. We have not seen the project yet, but we did meet the superintendant of the project. He is from the states. D and him got to talk business for a while.

Then we walked to the pizza parlor. O and N could not join us, her parents were in town for the weekend, and they wanted to spend some time with them. They have a play area much like chuck e cheese's, only this one you have to pay by the half hour. It is not included in the price of the pizza. They also do birthday parties. It was fun watching the games they were playing. They also have an air hockey table. They boys had a lot of fun...just the beginning.

We needed to pick up the soccer ball to play when we dropped Little K off, and I didn't carry it to church with us, so we had to walk to the apt to get it. We ended up watching professional soccer..Manchester United vs. Arsensal FC. Soccer is huge over here. Our facilitator used to play alot, in fact he played until his first year of college.

When we dropped Little K off, we played some football---soccer. T keeps asking Big K to come ready and wear his sneakers. T thinks Big K is all talk.

Today...Monday, we went to the market to stock up. It was about 70 today and sunny. We were running out of Gryvnas(ukraine $$) so Big K was going to meet us at the square so we could go the the bank and exchange some US currency. Problem was, the US dollar has dropped rapidly in the last 5 days, as the Euro has gone up....so not only is the exchange rate lower...we went to 4 or 5 banks that were not even exchanging US. Big K found one that would, but they rejected 2 bills because they had writing on them and looked too old. We had to pull on some that looked newer and they changed them. Big K wore his sneakers...T was thrilled. So we played soccer all afternoon. Big K is very good...he showed T & K some moves they probably had never seen, and he had some hard shots. I think Big K had as much fun as the boys did. His son does not like soccer so he will not play it with dad...but our boys certainly wore him out today. I'm sure he is going to sleep well tonight.

We received notice that the water to our apt building will be turned off for the day tomorrow. Probably construction related, I don't think each unit had its own shut off, I think it is all one. Anyhow we had to fill up these big bottles so we would have water for the day.

See ya later!!!!

Happy Easter!!!!

Happy Easter to all our friends and family in the US. It is weird, since it is not Easter here. They follow the orthodox calander so Easter is on 4/27. We will be long since gone, so technically we are missing Easter this year. T is imagining all his friends getting candy in the am, and to him it is just another day. We will celebrate when we get home. We will do the egg hunt and everything..just late. We celebrated Good Friday by watching the Passion of the Christ, so we will, by ourselves, celebrate His rising at breakfast.

The climate here is alot like home in the spring. It is about 40-45 everyday, and today it was sunny. The flowers are beginning to come up. The landscape, trees, etc. are alot like Michigan. They have white birch trees, poplars, and evergreens. But even thought it is spring, it is a very dismal town...gray and mud everywhere. I am trying to take a variety of pictures, but everything looks the same. Every once in awhile, a business owner will paint the front of their building a wild color...bright yellow, neon green, etc. At first it seems a little gaudy, but after looking at all the gray, it isn't so bad.

Everyone in the city lives in apartment buildings very similar to the one we are in. Big metal entrance doors, narrow cement dark stairwells, but once you get through the doors to the actual apartment, they aren't that bad. They have done the best they can. They are very small...most are probably smaller than our garage. But this is what they have, so they make the best of it. We visited the town's version of HD or Lowe's. It is about 1000 sq ft. I will try to post pictures.

They have about 30 different types of ketchup. Ketchup w/garlic, w/onions, w/peppers, w/tobasco, with pretty much any combo you can imagine. They use it for pasta sauce as well, and most of their grocery packaging is much different than ours.

Today we went to visit LK, by ourselves, K called us a cab to and from the orphanage. Lk is getting a little bored of the visits and then us leaving, I know he is wondering how long before we get to just take him home. To be honest, I am ready to be home, but we are managing. I know we will have a new appreciation for all the little things in life.

Love you all

Pictures

Well...it took about 15-20 minutes to load each of these pictures, and I kept getting error messages on the next one. I guess I will try one picture a day.

Things that are different here:

1. Almost Everybody Smokes...Everywhere...There are no areas that are non-smoking.
2. There are no lane markers and no turn lanes. Everyone from taxi's to buses to trucks drive in whatever lane happens to be open at the time or drive to avoid the potholes.(You think Michigan is bad....these roads make Michigan roads a dream) Today we were at an intersection where 4 cars were lined up one next to another to all make the same left turn. They pass on the wrong side of the road all the time...in fact since there are no center lines, I guess it's not the wrong side of the road.
3. You can buy beer anywhere. There are little kiosks on every street corner and right next to the coke cooler is a beer cooler....and there is no drinking age. In fact on the airline here(we flew on Aerosvit, the Ukrainan airline) when they served breakfast they also served beer, wine, vodka and brandy drinks along with the coffee, tea, soda, and juice. And it was no additional charge...and they weren't the little bottles, they had whole bottles and fifths and had to get more bottles from the back.

Later,
S

We Have a Court Date!!!!!

We have a court date and it is within the next week. At the court date, K will officially be our adopted son, pending the 10 day wait. The 10 day is considered and appeal time, in case some family member whiches to protest. Some have received immediate execution of the court mandate which waives the 10 day wait. Since noone has ever visited K in the five years he has been in the orphanage(except us), please pray we have favor; the judge's heart is softened; and we are granted immediate execution in Jesus' name. I will try to post some pictures.

S says HI Everybody

Hi All. Well our faciliator manage to hook us up to the internet in our apt. Dial up. Boy the things we take for granted until we don't have them. I don't know where to start. the last week has felt like a year. Wow how things are different. We have hot water if the pressure in the building is high enough for the insta hot to function. And then it is only hot, we cannot shift to part cold or the water will turn to all cold. We fill the tub halfway with very hot water, then fill the rest with cold.
We have a washing machine, but no dryer. I have been taught that is what the radiator heaters are for. Very few people own their own cars. Most use taxi's or busses. We have used both. It gets light about 5:00am and by 7:30pm it is pitch black, and I mean pitch black. there are no, i mean absolutely no street lights or outdoor lighting of any kind.
The whole city looks just like an old USSR army movie. It is very surreal. There is what we would consider as poverty everywhere. Crime does not seem to be a problem here though, at least not unless you are in the roughest area of town.
In some ways they are very advanced...they have cable t.v., all hot water comes from insta hots. They dress everyday at the height of fashion. Even in the mud. I have seen more boots in the last week than ever in my life. Not rain or snow boots either. Stilletto heels on even old ladies...what we would consider m-tv dress or clubbing dress is very acceptable here at all hours of the day. Boots past the knee, boots to the knee, ankle boots...all with very high heels. Red, black, aquamarine, gold, snakeskin, leopardprint. All in our daily excursions. I am going to find out how to ask if I may photo their shoes in russian. It is amazing among all this mud. And there is mud and puddles everywhere. It has rained everyday since we got here. Not all day, but on and off all day.
So far we have seen the social worker, Big K, our facilitator, has spoken with the judges person, and we have been to see the orphanage director.
We have met wonderful friends in K and his wife O and their son N. We have gone to church with them twice now..they have on Sundays and Wednesdays. It is a small store front born again church. We are sharing alot, and I believe have made friends for life. K does such good things for God here, I am so glad and thankful that we were led to him. D & I both know we will be back to do missionary work with him. He is helping build an orphanage for babies in his city. We will be going to see the progress soon.

I will write more in depth later about various things. the driving is way different, we went to a circus...russian style...even the grocery store is an adventure.

Girls..K & H we love you very much and we miss you and we are so very proud and thankful to you two.

Love you all..just please keep praying we have favor with every person/official who comes in contact with our paperwork.

T says HI Everybody

Hi everybody..this is T. How are you guys doing? I'm having a weird time because all the people do not understand me. It is always funny when they talk because they sound like they're yelling. The food is horrible, but my mom found froozen pizzas. It is very, very rainy and muddy. I already fell a couple of times. They drive like they're in Grand Theft Auto. There are no lines on the streets. There are no speed limits. The buses use propane instead of gas. I'm bored alot with all the paperwork and waiting. I have been playing alot of my PSP. JW & CM...how is bowling going. You are probably on your way there right now. It is 9:15pm here.
We are 6 hours ahead of you. HG, AL, AR & JN...how is roller hockey going. Hey, JW'S dad, guess what, we watched the hockey game between Kiev and Katzahtzhan. In the second period, the Kiev team hit the puck up into the stands and hit a guy in the head. It was bloody. The bench threw up a towel because the medical guy did not have one. I got to see K yesterday and today and tomorrow, and we played soccer in the rain. We played ping pong which was fun and boring at the same time. Well I have to get in the bath now. I miss America and all my friends.

See Ya, T

In the Region

Today was the first chance I had to find an internet cafe to update. Internet access is sparce here. We are learning a new appreciation for alot of the things we take for granted at home. Today we got to see little K for the first time since we arrived. He was as happy to see us as we were to see him. We also got our cell phone today, but it will be reserved for emergencies only.

We all are fine, but it definitely is a lifestyle change. We are taking alot of photos, but until we find wifi, we will not be able to load any. We will be visiting the social worker tomorrow, as well as going to see the judge. Pray favor over our path so we can be home soon. I have been keeping a journal for those who will be interested in all the details. We are in the far east part of Ukraine, closer to Russia than Poland. We are walking alot. The sun rises about 5:30am and sets about 7:30.

Love you all. Will write more when I get a chance.

We Are Here, Finally!!!

I am in a pizzaria in Kiev, borrowing our translators laptop, so I will be brief
We landed in Kiev this morning at 11:00. We went to the SDA and was approved to pursue the adoption of K. Since it was late in the day, the paperwork will not be ready until Monday, but we are traveling to the region tonight anyway. Our facilitator will pick up the paper for us on Monday.
So, we are here safe and sound....and very tired.

I will write more later, when we get to the region.

Love you all.......

Good News....

God is soooo faithful. The bible says we will have trials and tribulations, but with Him we will overcome them all. That is so true, I have to keep reminding myself of all the times He has definitely come through for us.
I received an email from K in Ukraine. I had asked him to go to the SDA and see if they would see us on Friday after our plane landed. He said they do not see families on Fridays, and even so they do not process the neccessary paperwork we need on the same day. Generally, it is the next business day, which would be Monday. I told him I would pray that he walk in God's favor and grace. Faith is what we know God has promised, not what we see with our eyes, so I began Psalm 103, "Bless the Lord o my soul and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, o my soul and forget not all your benefits. You forgive all my iniquities, you heal all my diseases, you redeem my life from destruction. You fill me with lovingkindness and tender mercies." Granted, I said it out loud as I was getting ready to go online and get the flight cancellation/delay info for K. Before I left the room, I refreshed my email...and there was an email from K. He said God certainly blessed him and opened doors for him. Our appt has been rescheduled to whenever we arrive there straight from the airport, and all indications are that we will have our paperwork in order the same day so we can travel to the region on Friday night. Praise God for His faithfulness.
Anyhow, here we were with a whole day to spend in Syracuse, NY. We decided to go to the movies at the mall. This isn't just any mall...they are construction a mini-city here called.....
DESTINY, USA. The mall is called the carousel mall, and 2 whole floors of the mall are dedicated to the Destiny project. It is supposed to rival the Mall of America, except they are building it 'green'. There is an interactive map of the final project which will include a golf course,mini tuscany(complete with canals and gondolas), and an indoor park (150 acres with grass, trees etc. inside a dome). It was really interesting.
Tonight we will pack up, relax and get ready for our 6:30am flight to JFK. Maybe I will figure out how to attach a picture to this blog.
Keep us in your prayers....that we walk in favor wherever we go and that God is preparing our path before us.

It's snowing in Syracuse

The first thing my dad asked when we told him we were in Syracuse, was if it was snowing....well it wasn't then, but it sure is now. Good thing we weren't flying out today, as we are hearing of numerous flight delays.
We spoke with K, our Ukraine facilitator this morning. He was not very happy, and I'm also not happy at this point, but I keep reminding myself"the joy of the Lord is my strength" and I know He will make all things right. With the new flight plans we are going to miss our appt with the SDA(State Dept of Adoptions). This isn't just any appointment, this one we have waited for 1-1/2 years for and unlike rescheduling a dr's appt. these are not so easy. I had to email him the documents verifying our flight cancellation as well as the flight delay. He will not know until probably tomorrow when our new date will be.
As it stands now, we will fly from here to JFK at 6:30am tomorrow and leave JFK for Kiev at 7:25pm. We will not arrive in Kiev until Friday, which is the day after our schedule appt.
D & T are already getting fidigety, so we will probably go catch a movie today and wait.

Next Stop.....Syracuse, New York??????

The bible teaches you get whatever you say...and I said "adventure". I never thought the adventure would begin before we left the U.S.
We arrived at the airport an hour before our 1:30pm flight to New York and while we were checking our luggage, found out our flight had been CANCELLED. No call to the cell # we provided, nor any email in advance. We explained we had to catch a 7:25pm flight to Kiev. We were re-routed to travel through Syracuse, NY, change planes in Syracuse and continue on to JFK, arrival time 5:20pm. The checked our bags clear through to Kiev, and provided boarding passes for both flights. The whole process took about an extra 1/2 hour. The flight to Syracuse was scheduled to leave a half and hour after our original flight. Not a major issue, 'be resiliant, we'll still get there' I told D & T. At least we did not have to be concerned with our checked bags in NY.
The plane was scheduled to leave at 2:01. At 1:30 they began to board first class. Partway through boarding, they informed everyone there was a mechanical difficulty with the plane and they would "advise" us at 2:05pm of the new departure time. Our connecting flight was at 4:00PM, and the flight to Syracuse was 53 minutes once in the air. To make a long story short....we passed the connecting flight on our way to the gate...there was not another plane to JFK to get us there in time for our flight to Kiev..so we are spending a couple of days in Syracuse. It was a couple of stressful hours, primarily for T. Our airline was not being very helpful, and in a small airport like Syracuse, there were only 2 people working, and they were also cleaning the plane and boarding passengers. We even tried to rent a car at the airport here, eight different rent a car companies all in a row and not one of them had an available vehicle. One offered a cargo van, but it only had two seats and there are three of us. lol. We just had to laugh. I told D that God must have really wanted us in Syracuse, so we are on the look-out for a divine appointment.
THANKS TO GOD THAT HE DIRECTED ME TO BUY THAT TRAVEL INSURANCE LAST NIGHT. I didn't buy it even imagining we would need the parts about missing a connecting flight or delays. The emergency number was sooooo helpful. She called the airlines, she gave us our options, she gave us hotel information and basically instructed us what to do.
The flight to Ukraine is of course the key. The only flight that could get us there in time for our scheduled SDA(State Dept of Adoptions) appt on 3/13, would have cost us an additional $5000. That exceeds the travel insurance max and we do not have that kind of extra cash laying around. It makes changing our existing flight plans for $200. each a deal. Plus the insurance will/should cover the additional charges. We have to pay up front and they will reimburse us. I just hope they reimburse quickly because we are traveling on a budget.
I tried to contact our facilitator in Ukraine, but by the time we knew we missed the flight, it was about 1am there. I pray that he will be able to change our appt date to when we arrive.
I won't know until tomorrow. It is 10am here, 5am there. I think still too early to call. Much thanks to Eric at Total Computer Support on Jefferson in St. Clair Shores for the laptop on loan. I had taken my old one in for repairs, and it was toasted. Instead of trying to sell me a new one to take, he re-programed his own to accomodate what I needed, and had it ready just in time. May God bless him for blessing us.
We found a hotel with a free shuttle and free breakfast, checked in and took the free shuttle to dinner. We need to keep all the receipts for our claim.
Syracuse is a nice little town. We would have probably never have visited here.
Well, it is time to get some sleep.
"God, you are the one that goes before me. You will not leave me nor forsake me, I will not fear nor be dismayed"

Less than 12 hours

Well it is 12:31am. I just finished purchasing the much needed travel health insurance and registering with the US Embassy. The travel insurance I found out about on the Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption website. It covers you for all medical care while you are abroad and for any emergeny evacuation if needed. Most health care policies will reimburse you, but you are responsible to pay up-front. For less than $100 for all of us, we are covered. So many things I never thought about. We are pretty much packed except for what we will need in the am. I am going to pack some food for the travel, not sure what will be available and when. We will have a four hour layover at JFK, not sure how the whole customs thing works, but will find out. I think they search(unpack) all your luggage and carry-ons. We were advised to take zip ties in our carry on's, so we can secure all our checked bags right after customs. Some families have experienced some pilfering of things. If I went through all the trouble to remember to pack something, it sure better be there when I get to my destination. We are leaving DTW at 1:30pm and will arrive in Kiev(kyiv) the following day at 11:30am. Kyiv is 7 hours ahead of us, and the weather is surpising similar to what we have here. The next post should be coming to you from far away country of Ukraine. P.S. T's roller hockey team won tonight. He was happy, since it will be his last game for awhile.

Two Days and Counting

Our plane will leave Detroit at 1:30pm on 3/11 and we will arrive in Kyiv, Ukraine on 3/12 at 11:20am. Last minute details are being completed. Plans for our responsibilities at home are being detailed and delegated. We got to go to church this morning, in was bittersweet since T's team did not make it to the State finals on Sunday and we were able to attend. I need all the strength I can get because this is truly going to be an adventure. The furthest out of the country any of us has been, is to Canada. lol, a ten minute drive over the bridge. The list is getting shorter, but includes gifts for the children staying at the orphanage, clothes for our SDA date(the office that approves us to adopt a child) and for our court date(that finalizes the adoption). We are visiting with family tonight, the last hurrah of the season for the ice rink. I will update as often as internet access allows. Please keep us in your prayers, that we have favor and return home quickly with K.