Ready, Break!

Yesterday I had an epiphany. I said, "Hey self. Most of the kids at the orphanage are being sent away for the holidays. Why shouldn't Chris be able to stay with us for a few days?" I called George, the Jedi (our great facilitator) and presented this line of thinking. About an hour later, he called back. He had spoken to the powers that be, and they granted Chris a week with us. Praise God, some real time to bond with our son, and him with us.

Last night, we made a frantic visit to the orphanage after we found out that most of the remaining kids would be leaving early Saturday. We took a cab because of the gifts (from Reach Orphans with Hope) that needed to go in the trunk. It was nice to be above ground for this ride so that we could see where things were at the top of all of the metro stops we make everyday. The subway is about 300 yards underground. I think when Jesus comes back, people down there would never have a clue. Anyway, we got there about 7pm. We were not expected, but we were allowed to go into parts of the orphanage that people are not allowed to go; the children's living and common areas. We have no pictures of the inner sanctum, as they are expressly forbidden. Chris wanted to be the guy to hand out all of the gift bags. In the bags, there was a good pair of warm socks, some stickers, candy, gum, and rubber bracelets. I could tell that Chris felt like "the man." His posture was one of confidence and a reminder that giving is better than receiving. All of the children were grateful for the surprise, even though it was small.

This morning I went to get Chris. I took some chocolates (from Reach Orphans with Hope) for the caregivers, teachers and cafeteria workers. The latter group was most touched by this gesture, as it was obvious that nobody ever gives them anything.

Chris was so excited to be coming with me to stay with our family. We had a great time going to the flat. His English is improving and he wants to learn more. We went to the grocery store- the boy loves pineapple! Can you believe that one fresh pineapple costs $25 U.S.? I am not Donald Trump. We bought canned pineapple ($1.25) and pineapple juice.

Tomorrow we will all be able to meet with a local body of believers. We are glad that Chris will be able to see more of this very important part of our family's life.

Until Next Time,
The Underwoods

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Well, Andrey/Chris is now one step closer to being our son. We had court today and it went as well as it could have gone...and even shorter than we were told. The feeling that Paula and I had afterwards was, "We were held up all this time for THIS!?!"

The judge asked us questions that she could have just looked in our paperwork (which she had) to get answered. She asked us about income, how we will educate him, our home, and if we could support him. I wanted to say "Well, if he stays here, he will remain alone, have a future of unemployment, limited educational opportunities, and poverty. On our worst day, we could do better." But common sense prevailed and we just played along. The judge and jury disappeared and came back after 5 minutes and said we had unanimous approval.

After we adjourned, the vice-director whisked Chris away. No time for a picture. I can only imagine how Chris felt after being called into court and asked if he wanted to be adopted by us. He said yes and now he will have to wait back at the orphanage for 2 more weeks. I know that 2 months ago he had no family here to get him and now he does. It is just tough to watch him have to endure the ridiculous nature of the process.

All that said, we are grateful for answered prayer. Life in this world has no guarantees. Though many of our friends have gone through this process and blogged about it, our experience could have gone the other way for any number of reasons. Thanks for all the support.

Tomorrow I will go to the embassy to sign some more paperwork. We will visit the orphanage for a New Year celebration. The countdown has begun! 10 days from now, Chris will legally be an Underwood (bless his heart).

Blessings,

Ande and the Rest

At Least it's Christmas Somewhere

The Orthodox church celebrates Christmas on January 7. Here, New Year's is a bigger event than the Christmas celebration. But for us, Christmas is TODAY.

Chris spent the night with us. Just like a little kid, he came into our room (earlier than we would have chosen). He said, in a little expectant voice, "Medee Kreesmas!" We rolled over, and then we rolled out for his first time around the tree. We began as we always do with me (Ande) reading the Christmas story from Luke 2. I pulled up the Russian translation online and Chris immediately began to read aloud...all the way to verse 20. It was pretty cool.

We opened a junior version of presents here and all began to engage their new loot. After playing some Christmas songs, I had to get ready to meet George, our facilitator, at the notary. Yep, everyone is at work (or what most here call work) today like any other day.

Our family met at 1:00 for Christmas dinner at, where else? TGI Fridays!!!!!!!!!!! Our bio. kids had the reindeer fingers and fries. Chris and I had the mistletoe alfredo (which he loved). Paula enjoyed the fish that slept at the North Pole last night. We chased it all down with Claus Cola- no free refills, please. To top it all of our waiter was MUSLIM!

We had some of the orphan grads over and they had their only meal of the day at dinner with us. Afterwards, Paula and I gave them some small presents (which may have offended most who read this blog) and they were beside themselves. It really is better to give than to receive. I had to get Chris back to the orphanage by 7:00. He fought back tears, but was not too successful. Tom Petty was right- "The waiting is the hardest part."

We miss home. It's not the stuff that we miss most, but all of you. Ok, I do miss driving and having a clothes dryer. Otherwise, we are managing just fine.

We have court tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8:00am, CST. Please pray for us. We have a judge who is new on the job and I cannot get a feel for how she will act. I trust all will go well.

God Bless You, and "God Bless Us, Everyone."

Ande, Paula, and the Elves

P.S., Thanks to all of you who called today and yesterday. What a delight to hear from home.

Chrismas Eve

It was a white Christmas Eve. Today the six of us had a chance to be together for a longer period of time. The Warden let Chris out at 1:00 to spend the night. He is ecstatic. I am not even sure he knows what happens at this time of year, but the excitement is written all over his face. We went to the Piepon's home (American missionary doctor and his family- been in UK for 6 years) tonight to have a little time to hear English spoken and meet some other Americans. Chris could not get back to the apartment fast enough. He just wants to be able to relax at "home." BTW, thanks to those of you who called today.

I (Paula) am a huge "tradition" person- especially at Christmas. My family only had few traditions, so I really try to make the holidays special for the holidays with lots of traditions. This is one of the hardest things about being here at this time of year for me. As we walked through the metro, I was sad thinking how these people were just going about with no concern for Christmas. New Year's is the big holiday here, Christmas is really just a day off work (they actually celebrate it on Jan. 7th b'c of the Russian orthodox calendar). Then all of sudden, I felt a little hand reach and grab mine. It was my new son. He flashed me a huge smile! Wow- this is the first time he's been to a Christmas party or anywhere holding his mom's hand. He was abandoned at birth. I thought, "but Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Thank you, Father, for giving me so many treasures to ponder for many years to come.

We got the tree decorated, watched "Charlie Brown Christmas" and "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" on YouTube. Ah, technology. Speaking of technology, please enjoy the slideshow attached to this post. We hope this is especially a blessing to all of our friends at home who are still waiting for their "turn". Take some time to pray for the fatherless all over the world tonight.

God Bless You All,

The Underwoods

Christmas in the Slammer?

Tonight I was returning home after taking Chris back to the orphanage/fraternity house (I Needa Papa). I was minding my own business, walking down Kreshatyk St. and, all of a sudden ,I (Ande, of course) saw a large sum of money drop to the sidewalk. Now, Kiev is not a place where you see money laying around. You wouldn't believe how many people around here beg for just one grivna, about 20 cents U.S. The money was folded and wrapped in plastic. I estimated it to be about $5000 in $100 bills. The moment of truth. I saw who dropped it. I picked it up and ran to the unsuspecting man and gave it to him. He thanked me sincerely and went on his way. I did not realize that I had a witness to this, who became my fan instantly (he was beside himself that I would give this wad of money back). We began to walk and talk and it became apparent that we only spoke a little of the other's native tongue. He asked me what country I was from. I told him America. He began to praise America with his hand over his heart. I wanted so badly to tell him why I gave it back (prompting of God's Spirit, not loving money, etc.) As I began to think of ways to explain myself, the man whom I gave the money back to came up to us. He said that he had 2 packs of money to start with. He asked where I found his money, and I pointed to an approximate place and told him. He spoke good English, and asked if we would please convince him by emptying our pockets so that he could be sure we did not have it. I was incredulous. About this time (by the way, it's cold), a plain clothes policeman unfurled his id and asked what seemed to be the problem (I guess). My groupie, flanked to my right, began to point to me and say, "This good man! He not have your money!" Then he disappeared in all of the confusion (not his problem). The policeman asked me to humor everyone by showing the contents of my pockets. I did, and then he let me go. I told them both that if I wanted any of his money in the first place, I would have kept what I had and not given ANY back.

I got to the Metrograd (underground mall) as soon as I could and weaved my way around to make sure I was not being followed. Then I took the other $5000 and bought myself a new suit for court. JUST KIDDING!!!!!

Hope your Holidays are less intrusive.

Ande

Could be a Charlie Brown Christmas

Since Christmas in Kiev is inevitable, we decided to get a Christmas tree and open a few presents on Christmas morning. Some trees cost as much as 10,000 grivnas ($2000 US) at some of the shops near our flat.

This evening, Anderson and I ventured out to see if we could get a smaller tree for our budget. We went to the store where we buy groceries (about 2 metro stops away) because I noticed earlier this week that artificial trees were less expensive. I found the tree that we needed and it was fully decorated! I got it up to the cashier; would you believe I was the only one in the store buying a Christmas tree? It became evident that the price tag on the top of the tree reflected the price of the tree only. In my angst, I had the cashier and the soccer mom behind me (and a couple of other shoppers) help me remove the ornaments, etc. from Charlie Brown's tree. I decided to keep the decorative ball ornaments, but the hideous red and white garland had to go. Undoubtedly, the roll-tide garland had much to do with why the tree was still available on the 21st of December.

We left the store and headed to the metro station to get home. The escalator ride is 2 minutes up and down. The looks I got carrying a Christmas tree as I rode down the escalator were priceless. The one phrase to sum them up might be "The village has found their idiot." We boarded the train with the tree and we got smiles from some and stares from others. It was somewhat like a Yuletide "Weekend at Bernie's." [The last time I felt this odd on public transportation was 1992, in Kazakhstan. This guy got on the bus carrying the head of a cow that he bought at the open market (it was the last one). He sat down next to me as if he were carrying a bag of chips.] ANYWAY, when we got off the metro, I carried the tree just like I used to carry the Christian flag at VBS as a kid. I wanted to sing "Deck the Halls" at the top of my lungs, but frankly I was getting a bit too tired. I considered "Oh Tannenbaum," but those were the only 2 words of the song that came to mind.

When we arrived at the flat, Lily was ecstatic. Noah was unimpressed. We will see if Paula can work her magic on decorating it tomorrow.

Leave the light on for us.

Ande

Huge Thank You!

Dear Family and Friends,
I want to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to post to our blog or send a personal email. You cannot really understand how much it means to hear from the outside world during this process. All of you have been a huge encouragement to our family. We log on a couple of times of day, and all the kids crowd around and want to read the posts. Thank you so much for traveling with us on this incredible journey.

This week I have had a head cold that has now moved to my chest. So I have been coughing for the last three days. I have been cooped up in our flat for the last 2 days, since it is around 20 degrees (with wind chill) outside. Please pray for my recovery. I have traveled internationally quite a few times, and this is the first time I've ever been sick. Please pray that the kids and Ande will stay well.

We are heading out today to find a Christmas tree. We are going to try to make the holidays as festive for the kids as possible. Ande and I are going to try to go shopping tomorrow for the kids while one of the orphan graduates watches the kids. It should be interesting to say the least.
We wish each of you a very Merry Christmas-please eat some turkey and dressing for us!

Love,
Paula and the gang

On Becoming Indigenous (It's like we live here)

Yesterday I took a walk alone out on Kreyshatik St., which is like being in Times Square in New York. Out of the sidewalk tunnel (where people cross the street underground) came a lady asking me, in Russian, if I knew where the toilet was. I do not know why I( of all the hundreds of people) looked like I should know where the toilet was, so I checked my shoe for a toilet paper flag. Unscathed, I answered her back in Russian and off she went. I thought to myself, "hmmm. Seems like I may be fitting in around here."

Maybe the reason for feeling this way is that we are being unavoidably detained by the legal process in Kiev. Last week when the judge told us that court would be on the 26th, we were not aware that she filed our proceedings with the court system. We found out yesterday that it is against the law to move our date forward at this stage. So we will deal with it.

Delta has us on a waiting list to leave on Dec. 30. If tickets are not available, we will leave on January 9. If that happens, we will have celebrated American Christmas and Ukrainian Christmas (Jan. 7). New Year is supposed to be a big deal here, maybe we will see.

I am beginning to see, perhaps, why this may be happening. Tonight we had 2 orphan graduates (ages 16, 21) at our apartment for dinner. The older one was diagnosed with bronchitis 2 days ago. The medicine cost 45 grivnas, about 9 dollars. She only had 15 grivnas, about 3 dollars. She was told by the compassionate, socialized medicine system here (that everyone access to for little or no money) that she would get no medicine without 45 grivnas. So they released her into the 25 degree snowy weather to get better, or perhaps catch pneumonia. When we found out about her situation, we decided to take care of the medicine for her. She saw one of the prescription bottles that we brought over with Anderson's name on it and it absolutely blew her mind. She asked if she could take it back to show her friends.

So in the meantime, we will look after orphans in their distress. It feels a lot better than being mad at the world for being stuck here.

Earlier, we went to meet Chris' class at the theater for a St. Nicholas celebration. We got a great sampling of the Ukrainian culture and talent! Some of the acts were throwbacks to variety shows of the 70's.....ahem, 80's. One of the last numbers was LaBamba?!?!?

More Later,
Ande

Happy Birthday!

On the 15th, we celebrated Chris' 12th birthday. The director actually allowed him to spend the night with us. For those in Zap adopting, this is no big deal. But up here in the big city it is seemingly unheard of. We went to some American missionaries' home for dinner and they were so gracious. We had an outstanding time meeting them and learning from their 12 years' experience in Ukraine. They have 3 children who have grown up here.

On the way home, we stopped by a big grocery store and picked up the stellar cake you see here. We ate it at 10:30pm, just to be sure everyone had enough sugar at bedtime.

The picture you see on top is not an ebay photo. It is actually one of eight pictures, from every conceivable angle, our son took of his new Adidas tennis shoes that we gave him last night. I have never seen any kid so proud of clothing. You should see the nappy things he wears back at the OK Corral!

Today we went back to Terminal to handle some unfinished business, riding the go-carts. I was so ashamed of our American wimpy go-cart tracks after I got out of the car. Here, they make you sign a waiver and pick from their cache of helmets. They even have jumpsuits, if you want to go extreme. The cool thing is, it's all indoors. Long turns, FAST cars, and plenty of adrenaline. I risked my life to bring you this footage (ok, that's a bit much). I did have to sneak the camera onto the track, though. Maybe you can get some feel for the track.

Simple Selfish Request!

Hey everyone! I have been in Ukraine for four weeks and feel like we have got little accomplished in the adoption process. I am certainly not discouraged, though, just maybe a little frustrated. I would not trade this time in Ukraine for anything, as it has been our privilege to minister to so many precious orphans. I do have a simple request, though. If you have been following our journey, I would love to hear from you. Even if it is a simple hello. I guess I just want to know who is out there in cyberspace journeying with us. You really can't understand how much it means to us to know that you are all with us in spirit and prayer. So please take a minute to say hi- it would be a huge encouragement to us all. We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
Love,
Paula

Please Pray with Us

While we were on the train back to Kiev, our facilitator called and said that he met with the judge and the news was not good. The judge said she was very busy and could not meet with us until the end of JANUARY. Things begin to wind down on the 20th for the holidays here. He tried to explain to her our circumstances and she agreed to December 26. The problem with this is that our tickets to leave are for the 24th. I have no idea how we might navigate this. Since the tickets were purchased with Skymiles and it is the Holidays, it is nearly impossible to get them changed. I asked that we go back to the judge once more to request earlier.

Jesus' parable in Luke 18 comes to mind, where a lady seeking justice comes to the judge in the middle of the night. He told her time after time to go away, but she was persistent. He finally gave her justice after he grew tired of being bothered. Please pray that our judges' heart will be changed. It is somewhat discouraging to be here for 4 weeks and still not have court. Kiev is SO slow.

Thanks,
Ande

A Very Special Time

We spent the last 2 days down in Zaporizhzya, where there is a 13 year old girl who is very special to us. When I stepped out of the car, the door to the orphanage bolted open and I thought she might tackle me. It was the first time I had seen her in almost 2 years and I missed her more than I realized. We visited, gave gifts,had some very good open discussion, and reconfirmed that many efforts are being made to get her home. She understands why we are here this time and she is ok with it. That is about all I should say about this for now.

We went to visit the director's office and I could not have felt less enthusiastic if I were having an arm amputated. There is a lot of history here that I have much disdain for. Without us asking, she allowed our special one to spend the night with us and be brought back at 3:00 the next day. All of us were so excited. We went out with the Graces and the Hartsocks for pizza that night. The boys then went with the Hartsocks (Will and Garrett are best friends) and the girls went with us back to the Grace's. On the way back to the flat, D. wanted to get a movie. She picked out Mr. Bean. I LOATHE Mr. Bean, but gladly agreed and we took it back and watched it while the monotone man translated into Russian everyone's role in the movie.

Friday, we went shopping. She needed warm boots and jeans. She knew exactly what she wanted, which made me very glad. She wore everything out of the store. It was awesome. We met our friends( from summer 2006), Nina and Marina, for lunch and had a great visit. Finally, after getting everything D. might need for the next number of weeks, Yana (our friend and translator)and the rest of us piled into a not very large car and headed back to the orphanage. No, I will not ever again joke about how many Mexicans can fit into a car.


We stayed around until it was time for us to leave to go to the train station. We almost got out of there without having to eat any of the famous orphanage food. Almost. The director quickly ordered a round of milk soup for us. Rachael Ray she is not. It was disgusting.

The time to leave came and it was one of the hardest goodbyes I have ever had to make. I still cannot think about it much without becoming exceedingly sad. Nonetheless, I will treasure this time for weeks to come. Now I am finished talking like a girl.

Thanks so much to the Graces and the Hartsocks for being so gracious and flexible. They made everything so much better. We are so excited that they are closer to bringing their adoptions to a conclusion.

Done for Now,

Ande

We have soup!

We have had another great day. Today our mission was to get a pitcher for sweet tea and a pot to cook soup in. Last night we made our first meal at our flat, so we were ready to try to cook soup tonight. We called Katia and Sonya to ask where to go, so they offered to take us shopping. We went to the "bazaar", similar to a gigantic flea market but with more useful items. It was quite an experience! We finally found what we needed, and offered to buy the girls lunch. They of course wanted McDonald's, so we took them to eat. It was about 2:00, and while we were eating they both mentioned that it was their first meal of the day. They were still hungry, so we went back to order more. Then we told them we were headed to the orphanage. They were visibly upset- torn because they wanted to be with us but didn't want to go to their old home. I told them not to worry- we would meet them later and all have dinner together at our flat.

At the orphanage, after sitting around for a while and not seeing any kids, the director came out and invited us to go sit in on a concert the older kids were doing. It was wonderful to see many kids that we knew all playing their instruments. What an unexpected treat! Chris was not in the concert, and he was very glad to see us. We then spent a few hours with Chris learning some more English words and explaining to him his extended family. He was very happy to know that he has a big family, especially when we told him that everyone loves him and can't wait to meet him. The only negative of the afternoon was when the older boys (ones that have been to America) began to pick on Chris and Noah. It is such second nature for these older boys to pick on the younger kids. As a momma, I started to get defensive, but I know that these boys are only doing what they have learned. It was another sad reminder of orphanage life.

After leaving the orphanage, we met up with Katia and Sonya. They wanted to teach us how to make Ukrainian soup. We went back to our flat and made some of the best soup I've ever tasted! It was such a great time--I only wish Chris could be with us. As we talked, though, I became more and more aware of how these two go without things all the time. Katia has no refrigerator, and both seem to be without food more often than with it. I ended up making them "goody bags" full of our American snacks to take home. They were so appreciative to have someone dote over them-- act like a mom might. I had to stop and thank God once again for the opportunity to be a mom to these sweet orphans-even if it's only for a few days! I am so blessed!

We are still waiting to hear about court. We have been assigned a judge, but she does not want to have court this week. So we continue to wait. We are hoping to head down to Zap and see our little girl in the next few days. Please pray for all the details to work out. Also, Chris's birthday is on Saturday, the 15th. Please pray that he might be able to spend the night with us.

Love to all,
Paula, Ande and the kids

So Many Orphans....

Yesterday was a lot of fun while we were out doing things that we take for granted at home. But the cold harshness of orphan life in Ukraine set in afterwards. In order to simplify things, I decided to take Andrey (Chris) back to the orphanage and the rest of the family would go back to the flat. Katia asked if it would be ok if she and Sonya went back to the orphanage too. Of course, I said yes. They had absolutely no desire to be there, but it became apparent that they just did not want to go back to where they call home. Even after I took them to McDonald's (mainly because I needed food to-go for lack of it in the flat), they wanted to hang around so that they could eat with us at home. We had a lot of fun packed into the phonebooth we call a kitchen. We made fun of the way each other said words in English and Russian, and enjoyed fellowship. They stayed with us until it became evident that they would not be able to catch the metro, because it would stop at midnight.

We have met some of Katia and Sonya's friends. They are just wonderful and fun to be with. Their eyes all light up when we ask them to do anything with us. They are so young to have involuntarily had such harsh life experiences. What this rather quiet desperation taught me is just how bad they want a family, or at least someone who they can trust to invest time in them. Sometimes we as parents try to create so many larger than life experiences for our kids. I think all they really care about is being with us....unless we condition them otherwise.

Hmmmmm.

Out on the Town

Dear Friends and Family,
We have had a great weekend. We got up Saturday and decided to head out for a little sightseeing. Of course, we didn't have any directions, so it was rough going at first. After stopping and asking directions (Paula had to ask, of course), and then getting more directions, we finally found the Lavra- a church built above catacombs (caves) that monks lived in around 1050 AD. It was quite an interesting field trip. There are some beautiful buildings filled with many lovely works of art, particularly Madonnas and others from the Medieval period. But it is an incredibly depressing place. Walking into the area, you are accosted by begging kids. There is lots of construction going on, as they continue to build more buildings, stores, and museums on the site. It is very sad to see all the wealth and such great need in the same place. And there is everything from candles, icons and religious trading cards (as the boys call them) for sale. It is so sad to see such a depressing, empty religion. I guess it could all be summed up with a question Noah asked me, "Mom, if this is a church, why are all the people so unhappy? Everyone at Brook Hills is always smiling and happy." It was a great opportunity to share with the kids why our beliefs are so different from Russian Orthodox. Then we went through the creepy catacombs where all the people were going through kissing the tombs of dead saints. The kids couldn't wait to get out of there!

We decided that was enough culture for one day. We headed back to the flat to try again the next day.

Today was a great day. Our group of 9- Ande, me, our 3 bio kids, Andrey, his friend Oleg, and 2 orphan graduates from Andrey's orphanage (Katia and Sonya) -headed to the left bank to the Terminal. This is a mall with bowling, iceskating, movie theater, go-carts, etc. A kid's paradise!! Andrey had his heart set on ice skating, so we ended up ice skating, bowling, and having pizza! And to top it all off, we met up with our friends Oleg and Lena V. and kids. Yes, our group just got bigger!

We finished up the day (yes, quite exhausted) and got on the marshrutka- taxi bus. We managed to fit 30 people in a 15 passenger van for a 20 minute ride back to the metro. Ah, yes, Ukraine!!

We are looking forward to being assigned a judge tomorrow, and hopefully begin negotiations (ha, ha!) with a judge for a court date. Please pray that this will happen quickly. Also, please pray for Chris's sweet heart. He told Ande tonight that he doesn't want to go back to the orphanage any more. I know he will be devastated if we have to return to America without him. Pray for him to understand and be patient.

Love and miss you all,
Paula, Ande, and the kids

One Step Closer

We are hoping, based on what we heard today, that we go to court on Friday. Mathematically, it looks like we are running out of time to be able to get Chris home this year because the U.S. Embassy closes for 2 weeks on December 24. Yes, the work ethic is staggering. Our return tickets say December 24, so it will probably require one of us to come back after the new year to get his passport, etc. done.

Anderson and I went to visit him at the orphanage today. We had a great time and it looks, more and more, like he is fitting well into our family. We went to the little store down the block and while we were there, he wanted to buy one of his teachers a Birthday present. So we picked up a box of chocolates for her. He always seems to be thinking of others.

We returned to the orphanage and continued our visit. He learned a few more English phrases and we laughed a lot. When the director came out, I asked him if she was good to him. He patted the top of his head and said this is what she does to him.

We have our first inside joke. Our facilitator, George, is very tall and has a goatee. He also has some "interesting" views about life. Many of them are based on beliefs and superstitions here. Anderson and I call him "George the Jedi." We shared this with him and he loved it. I wish he could do a Jedi mind trick on the judge and everyone else to get us through this!!!

We really do know that God has everything in the palm of His hand. If mine and Paula's timing has worked the way we planned, we would only have a little girl who currently lives about 8 hours south. He knew that Chris was supposed to be our son. It took about a year and a half to get Chris out of the shelter and through their legal process to make him available. Otherwise, he would be destined to be alone the rest of his days on earth. It makes my brain hurt to think of how so much of life hangs on what we call thin threads and choices that we make. Playing it safe sure sounds boring to me.

By the way, we are still pursuing the little girl to the south of us- more on that another time.

I will go for now. Tomorrow, we plan to finally see some of the historical sites of this very old city.

Blessings,
Ande

Isaiah 55:9
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Finally Pictures

After a week in this flat, we finally have the ability to post pictures. It is as if we are working with contractors! Every time we ask "When will we get internet?" The answer is always "Tomorrow." Such is life when you are reliving the movie "Groundhog Day."

We have all the papers needed to petition the court. We hope to find out more specifics tomorrow.

I (Ande) am back in Ukraine in all its glory. After a very tough week for all of us, it is good to be back with Paula and the kids.

Andrey is doing great. He has picked a name- Chris. He will be known as Christopher Andrew Underwood after we finish with this process. After we bent our minds thinking of names for him before we got here, he would not budge off of "Krees." Half of the time I cannot even call my other 3 kids by their proper names, now I get to make the transition from Andrey to Chris.

His English improves daily and he is motivated to learn. He really has the look of "Hey, I cannot believe I am being adopted." He was talking with some of the other boys in the orphanage who are more savvy about adoption and they let him know that the process can take a year. He asked us how in the world we got our paperwork in so fast, since we just met him this summer. I almost choked on my shashlik! I told him that we have been trying for 2 1/2 years to get paperwork in and he just "came along at the right time." He thought that was great...he said "Klas!", which means cool. He quickly went and informed all of the lads about his good fortune.


Until we do the exact same thing tomorrow,
Ande

Thank You.

Without great turmoil, one cannot experience great peace. I am sure that it is not an original thought, but it is a recurring one for me. I am speaking of the peace of God that was promised to all believers and makes no sense to anyone else. [Philippians 4:7]

Thank you all so much for all the prayers and encouragement that you offered on my behalf during such a trying time. As strange as it may sound, the memorial service for my dad was so inspirational. He retired from the ministry 8 years ago. What amazed me were the stories of all that he did in the lives of so many after that time. I had no idea how he did much with relatively little. My dad is my hero, and he finished well.

Meanwhile, I should arrive in Ukraine on Tuesday morning to join my family in finishing what we started. Please continue to pray that we will get out of court in time to get home by the end of the month.

Blessings,
Ande

Rested and ready to go!

Yesterday morning I woke up exhausted after not getting home the night before until 9:30 p.m. The kids were worn out, too, so we decided to take the day off. I can't believe how much energy it takes just to get food, get to the internet cafe, and get to the orphanage and back every day. It involves 3 hours a day on public transportation, so that is a lot of it. I asked George to let Andrey know that we were not coming today. I am suprised how much I miss him if we don't go everyday- but it is such a good thing to feel more and more that he really is our son.

We met our friends- the Grace's- to try to help them get lunch and navigate the metro. Lily is so happy to spend time with another girl! It's also great to talk to another family who's going through this same journey and speaks English!! It was a great afternoon, and we actually made it back to our flat before dark. We just relaxed and watched a movie, then headed to bed.

So today we are feeling rested and ready to go. And it is such a special day for us. One of the orphanage graduates that we met 2 summers ago- Sonya- is having her sweet 16th birthday today! I mentioned her the other day on another post. God's timing is so perfect, as we are going to take her shopping and to dinner tonight. She is so excited about celebrating her birthday with us- she has never had a special birthday with family. We are so blessed to be her family today, and make this a day she will forever remember.

Hope you are all having a blessed day,
Paula and the kids

We are OK!

Dear family and friends,
I cannot tell you how much all of your posts have meant to us during this time. We feel your prayers and love, and we feel immeasurably blessed. We long to see all of you again, and tell you personally how much you mean to us. Ande has made it back home safely, and the funeral is at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. We are fairing well here now that I have a working phone. Ande tried to leave me so prepared, but forgot to tell me the password to our cell phone. So I was without any communication or phone numbers for a day- I know that we didn't have any of these modern conveniences when I was growing up, but I can't imagine what people did (and I lived it!). It was a helpless and anxious feeling for several hours, but all is good now. I think I'm the only woman who has ever taken three kids all over Kiev on the Metro, at least that's what all the stares are communicating. And at every official visit we make for documents, I am told that it is impossible for such a small woman to have three children- and want more. As our facilitator, George, would say, "It is unreasonable!" But I just smile, and say "spaceba" (thank you). By the way, I do have a new phone number- 380 678726947.

Please continue to pray for my sweet husband and our family. Anderson informed me today that he does not like being the man of the family, and is ready for dad to get back! Ande will fly out on Sunday and get back here Monday morning.

Andrey is doing great. We had our official visit with the director (more to come later), a whole 3 1/2 hours, and the kids were wonderful. She told everyone at the orphanage what angels they were! At least for a few hours! Andrey is really warming up to our family, opening up, and we're really seeing his precious personality. He is very smart, is #1 in his English class, and his English is improving everyday.

Blessed beyond measure,
Paula and the kids

Sad Day

Dear Friends and Family,
I am sorry to say that we got a call about an hour ago to let us know that Ande's dad has passed away. We are all grieving the loss of this wonderful father and grandfather, but we rejoice that he is now at home with our Savior and Lord. Please pray especially for our children as this is the first loss they have experienced. Also, please pray that Ande can quickly get a flight back home. We have a lot of official stuff to do today so that he can leave. Please pray that it all goes smoothly. We love you and miss you all,
Paula

One Step Closer

Well, we had an opportunity to get the inspector past us and now we will go tomorrow for the "official visit" to the orphanage. Our facilitator came by today to make sure the paperwork was in order from our perspective.

Andrey/Vitalik spent the day with us and we took them to eat at the Fat House, a good Ukrainan restaurant. Andrey chose this, as he had never been there. They loaded up and ate it all. Andrey wanted to buy his teacher some perfume, so the boys and I went and took care of that. After going to the underground mall to play video games and eating ice cream, they enjoyed sitting around the flat playing games and hanging out. Andrey asked George, our facilitator, if we would be in America before his birthday on Dec. 15. George could not be optimistic about this, but I told him there would be a late celebration. He told me that he enjoys riding the Ripstick and bikes.

No change with my Dad. My brother said that the CAT scan shows severe hemorrhaging in the brain and it does not look good. Please continue to pray.


Blessings,
Ande

Please Pray

As I (Ande) write this, my father is in a hospital in Dothan, AL. He had surgery on Tuesday to remove a cyst on his brain, a somewhat routine procedure. 72 hours later, he is in a coma. I spoke to my mom tonight and she is preparing for the worst case. Please pray wisdom for my mom and brother, who is there with them.

Right now I am staying the course on which we were brought and praying without ceasing. If The Father does call my dad home, mom and I are at peace. Our relationship has been good and I am grateful for the influence he has had on my life. I am so glad that I drove 3 hours to visit him the Sunday before I left. On that visit, he told me how excited he was to meet Andrey and that he was ready to love Andrey just like he did our other 3 children. It was a very good time.

Maybe someone reading this needs to get in the car to go see a parent.

On the adoption front, everything seems to be going well. Our facilitator got the referral yesterday and we went today to get the inspector to sign the paper that allows us to make the official visit to the orphanage on Monday. From there, we hope for the court date to be assigned by the end of the week. From what our facilitator says, Andrey is regarded as one of the best boys in the orphanage. It is nice to hear people brag on your kid, even when he is not yours yet.

I will go for now. We are on to our first weekend in Kiev. Hopefully we will move to another flat.

Thanks for cheering in the stands for us.

AU

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, today is Thanksgiving. We just left from having a wonderful, and familiar, lunch at TGI Fridays. The kids were so thankful for food that they recognized!! We miss all of our family back in the US, but honestly there is no place we'd rather be today. We are getting ready to go to the orphanage after we finish posting. We went around the table at lunch and all said what we were thankful for. It was so sweet to hear all the kids say how thankful they were to be here and for the opportunity to be with the orphans. It is so good to know that this is a journey that God has called our whole family to- not just Ande and I.
Yesterday, we sat around the apartment half the day waiting to move to a bigger flat (apartment). After repacking everything, we got a call that we were not moving. They were afraid of renting to a family with three kids- go figure- and they didn't even know that we had one more coming in a few weeks. So we are still at our one-room flat. And our toilet continues to overflow- last night about 1/2 inch of standing water. And the water won't turn off in the kitchen. But we're really not complaining- it just makes us thankful for our house in America. Please pray that we can move soon. We've called in help from our friend, Oleg V.
Anyway, we went to the orphanage and were so excited to see Sonya from 2 summers ago. I had called her and asked to meet her. She was so excited, and there were hugs all around. Her English is amazing, but I was most taken with her sweet disposition. For those of you who don't know Sonya, she was probably one of the more difficult orphans we've met in the summer program. Brilliant, but angry. Beautiful, but cold. But we all loved on her, stayed in contact with her during the year, and she became a Christian this summer at Radooga camp. To see a girl like her literally transformed by the love of Christ, that is what I am most thankful for today. To get to see it close up, and to know that only God can save these children. But He allows us the joy and privelege of coming alongside. What an amazing Father we have! So have a wonderful Thanksgiving and please say a prayer of thanks on behalf of children like Sonya.

We got the referral!!!

Well, we had the appointment at the SDA and we will have our referral for Andrey tomorrow between 5-6. It was so nerve-rachetting to sit there while they went to look for his file!! It took about 10 minutes, but it seemed like half an hour.

The representatives at the SDA were very nice. It is helpful to at least attempt a few Russian words, as it seemed to break the ice with us. They really did not ask us many questions, and the 2 ladies were very warm towards Paula and I.

Thanks for praying!!!!

By the way, in case you did not catch it, our cell phone number is 011 38 067 4991384. Remember to make sure you have international calling. With ATT, it is very inexpensive to call on a cell phone.

SDA Appointment Today

We leave in about an hour for our SDA appointment. It will be good to actually get something going in the process, now that we have mastered public transportation and all. We visited again with Andrey yesterday. Let me tell you, he is deadly accurate with a snowball. We had a great time.

Zhenya, from last summer, is 15 today. He is such a great boy. He always has a smile on his face and a positive attitude despite his circumstances. When I saw him, he recalled every detail of the time we had together at lake day. The thought came crashing down again that he has never had anyone ever invest a moment in his life. To be honest, I had difficulty being happy for him because I know that the clock is ticking for this young man. About a year from now he will be given a blessing and a shove from the orphanange and sent into a proven system for failure. No life skills, no parents, no money, no job. I layed awake half of the night thinking about him and praying for his future.

I hope today will be a step in the right direction for Andrey. Blessings to all of you.

The Full Monty

Today we really began the experience of living life in Ukraine. I began by coming to post on the blog followed by a trip to the market, where speaking a little bit of Russian can only do you a little bit of good. Nonetheless, the caveman here was able to drag home the daily rations.

I later went to buy a cell phone from the Kievstar store. Being in sales, I am still entertained by people in the stores here who seem generally bothered when you come in to buy something. We got out of there now able to communicate with someone- the phone in our flat was not working.

We called Stacy Hennesy and arranged to meet her at the orphanage. Yes, we had no permission from anyone official at the orphanage and yes, we decided to take our chances (I am trying to sound like Zhenya here). On the way to the metro, we hit the local McDonald's, where I was recognized as Superdad.

We got out at the Nivky station to catch the 719 bus to the orphanage. It was here the our family thought we would freeze to death. Lily kept her blood flowing by picking up snow every 4 steps. When we finally followed the right crowd standing underneath the right sign with 719 on it, we boarded the 719. I wish someone had told me that Guiness would be on hand to capture our attempt to break the world record for most people on a bus, I would have worn a different shirt. I looked at the sign on the front of the bus and saw that it was 1.25 grivna per person. I gave the driver 6.25 and he handed me 1.25 back and said nothing. I thought that I was getting the Guiness participant discount so I went back to, you guessed it, the VERY back of the bus. As soon as I sat down, the driver began screaming "molodoy chilavek" and what sounded like @#%$*& in Russian. I knew that he was talking to me, but had no idea what he was saying, so I decided to blend in with the environment by sitting like a bump on a log. Unphased, he kept on. Finally, a lady said "pyat grivna." So I sent him 5 more grivnas and the lashing stopped.

When we finally did get to the orphanage, about 6:15, Andrey was there waiting in the lobby. He was so glad to see us all and we exchanged the usual pleasantries. All of the boys from last summer came in and we hung out for about 2 hours. We took crazy pictures and watched little Yuri (from 2 summers ago) do amazing gymnastics in foyer hallway. We had a great time seeing what the boys do when the director is on vacation. Andrey's caretaker came out and told us what a good boy he was and that she really would miss him. She told us we could take him out tomorrow.

We finally left and made it home from our first real day in Ukraine. Scarred but smarter, we had a great time and vowed to do it again the next day. Thanks so much for all the prayers. It is amazing to be a part of all of this and we feel so privileged to be a part of "religion that God sees as pure and faultless."

I will get the phone number posted once I reload minutes and can get it off of the phone.

I Almost Forgot!!

We spent a day in New York on the way here. Here is a little footage from the subway. The kids did not know what to think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzLtF_PxbYw

Privyet!! (Hi!)

We made it! About 2:00am CST we landed in Kiev. It is cold here, about 27 degrees and snow on the ground. The kids are absolutely thrilled, since they have maybe seen snow once in their recollection.

We got through New York fine. When we got to the airport, we unloaded 9 checked bags. At the ticket counter, the agent only counted 8. We had no idea where the other one was, what was in it, or where it could have gone in 100 yards from the street to the inside. We did know that we had all of OUR clothes. What we were not sure about was if the missing bag had Andrey's clothes we bought him or all the gifts for everyone in the entire country of Ukraine. (Can I get an ugh! from all the ones who have adopted?)

When we got to Kiev, 9 bags appeared. We were so grateful that our prayers were answered in this way. We are hunkering down in a flat next door to TGI Fridays. I will have a cell phone number in the next day or 2.

Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. Story developing...........

Leaving Soon!

Unlike most families, we have had a month's notice of when we would be leaving. In these final hours, we are ready to leave so that we can stop wondering what else we have to buy, or pack, or remember for that matter.

We are excited that so many people we know are, or will be, in Ukraine with us. I know of no other situation where so many friends have been together to accomplish the same thing at the same time. It is as if God were "parting the Red Sea" of the orphanages in Ukraine.

As for the details, we will get on a plane headed for New York at 10:35am this Friday. We will stay overnight and fly to Kiev at 5:45pm on Saturday. From there, I have no idea.

Pursuing the dream......