Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Alla and I spent the entire morning at the courthouse retrieving and correcting the court hearing documents. Then in between preparing documents, we went to the orphanage at lunch time to see Olivia. Anxious to see her reaction when she saw me... it had been 2 weeks..so we all wondered... When we arrived she was eating lunch with her group, she saw me at the door, smiled and all the children said, "MaMa". Olivia was happy, but she really wanted to be able to finish eating her food. So, I waited and then she ate quickly and then ran over smiling and gave be a big hug. All the teachers said she would talk about us while we were away. They would see her watching the door each day.

After saying our hello, we informed the teacher that we needed to take her to have her passport photo done. So, they took her and changed her into what they call " party clothes." These are the nicer clothes that the children wear only for special occasions. She was so happy, especially when they allowed her to wear some pretty new shoes.

Well, this was Olivia first ride in a car. The teachers said she would probably get very upset and cry. However, she did great. She was frightened at first, but as long as I held on to her she was okay. She actually enjoyed being able to see so many new things. We returned her back to the orphanage, because we still had lots of business to take care of.

It was a happy and rewarding reunion.

Back to Ukraine

Sunday, April 26th I left for Ukraine with a mix of emotions. I was happy that I would get to see Olivia again, but very sad to be leaving all the family at home. This time I was traveling alone, so it was going to be different. Gabrielle was very sad that I was leaving. She wanted Olivia to come home, but not for me to leave her. So, I arrived in Kiev, Monday at 8:30 a.m. Needless to say, I was very tired. I was not able to sleep on the flight and I did not get much sleep before leaving. As soon as my driver took me to the apartment, I crawled in bed and slept for about 5 hours. Later I ventured out to McDonald's which was at the end of my street and had a safe American cheeseburger for dinner. I spent the rest of the evening in the apartment with a television that I could not get any channels to work, so I just read for a while and then decided to go to bed. I had to wake early, Alla and I were taking the 6:40 a.m. train to Vinnitsya. More documents and paperwork to do!! Herbert is going to miss all this fun!!....

Here's Olivia..

This is Olivia and Drew playing outside at the orphanage. She is much smaller than she looks in the picture. At the orphanage they layer the children in clothing when they go outside. She has on 2 shirts, a thick sweater, the dress, tights, leggings and the outer sweater. They want to make sure that the children do not get cold. We took her knit cap off while we were taking pictures. Each day during our visits we would spend time outside at the orphanage's playground.

Court Hearing ... A Success!!

We are happy to report that the court hearing was a success! We have officially adopted our new little girl, Olivia Diann Perry. We have returned home during the 10 day wait period. We are happy to be back in Florida, however we only wish Olivia were with us. I, (Sheila), will be leaving for Ukraine on Sunday, April 26th and will arrive on Monday, the 27th. Herbert will join me after he coaches his high school baseball team in their district tournament. We are looking forward to bringing our new addition to our family, home!

Once again, thanks to everyone for your thoughts, prayers and support.

We are excited. We have a court date, for Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 3:30 p.m. Hopefully all will go well. We are going to be flying home on Thursday, the 16th. We will return back to the Ukraine after 10 days to complete the final paperwork and bring Olia,(Olivia Diann Perry) home with us. We wish we could take her back with us now! Unfortunately, there is a 10 day waiting period after the court hearing before you can receive the new birth certificate and then apply for the child's visa and passport.

We decided to go home and wait so Drew & Gabrielle can get back to school. They have enjoyed being a part of this great experience, but we are all ready to be back home!! I will return on the 28th and then Herbert will meet me in the Ukraine on May 9th. He needs to be with the high school baseball team during the district tournament. I will be with our translator, so I will be okay until he gets here. Alla, our translator, will take care of me. When you return to get the child you wait another week on the visa and passport, so Herbert will be here in time to do the final signature with the US Embassy and then we will return home with Olivia.

The orphanage is located in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. It is a good orphanage, but Olivia's caretakers are happy for her, yet sad because they will miss her. This orphanage has an okay facility, but it has many needs as do all the orphanages. On Monday, we talked with the orphanage director about items that they needed that we could donate. She gave us a list and we went with our translator to purchase diapers, wipes and other supplies that they needed the most. Today we went and purchased sand buckets and outside play toys for Olivia's class for Easter. They celebrate Easter this coming weekend in the Ukraine and for children it is like Christmas. They don't do easter baskets, but they try to give the children some type of spring toy. It is such a joy to see the faces of the children and workers when you give to them. They appreciate it so much.
We have been buying small items for Olivia that we give her during our bonding time. We gave her some crayons and coloring book and her teacher said that she did not know what crayons were. This orphanage does not have this as a part of their program, due to the fact that art supplies are too expensive. Yes, we take so many things for granted. When you think of children that are 4 years old that have never even colored with a crayon! It has truly been an eye opening experience for us! We are looking forward to the experiences that we will have with Olivia!

After the court hearing, we will be able to post some pictures of Olivia for everyone to meet her. We will continue to post until the process is complete and possibly for a period of time after we return home with her.

Take care! See everyone back home soon!

Hello everyone,
We are still waiting to know our court date. Each day we are just going and visiting with Olia at the orphanage. It is amazing to see the difference in her in just 1 week. We are so ready to take her home, where she will receive the individual love and attention that she so needs. She is a great little girl. We miss everyone and home! Thanks again for all your support.

Drew & Gabrielle say hello to all their friends who are following the blog, and their cousins!!

MeMe just wanted to let you know that Olia loves to have tea parties. We gave her a " My Little Pony" teaset and she knows exactly what to do with it. She pours the tea and even holds her pinkie finger correctly. She blows it before she drinks and says "Ahhh..." after drinking. She is funny! Talk to you later

Nana, thanks for staying and taking care of Ethan! We miss you too!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Monday, was a busy day as we began the paperwork process with our translator. We had to go the notary's office to do the petition to adopt, then to the Inspector of the orphanage to do more documents. Unfortunately, the petition was missing a sentence, so the translator had to have the notary redo!

We went to the orphanage, Olia was on the playground and she saw the car as we arrived and headed in our direction. She was very happy to see us. We took her to the children's hospital for an ultrasound of her kidneys to verify that everything was okay and to talk to the doctors. She has not had any problems since she was 1 year old, which was only a typical kidney infection. But as precaution due to her small kidneys, they have done an ultrasound every 6 months to verify no problems. The checkup was okay. She was a trooper through the whole process.

We will continue the paperwork this week and our translator hopes we can have a court date by Monday or Wednesday of next week and we will head home immediately after the court date. We have to wait 10 days before we can take her home, so we will go home and return to bring her home. Hopefully, all will continue to go well this week. Keep you all posted as much as possible.

Saturday & Sunday, April 4 & 5, 2009

Hello to everyone! On Saturday, we visited with Olia again and she was happy to see us. She was a little hesitant at first, but then took our hands to go out and play. We enjoyed the 2 hours once again with her. We will not be able to post a picture of her until after we go to court.

Sunday, back to the orphanage..and amazing the difference each day she is when we arrive. She knows us now. I, Sheila, am Ma, Herbert is Da, which is uncle in Ukrainian. They do not have much contact with men, so it has taken her a little longer to be okay with Herbert. She is definitely okay with Drew & Gabrielle.

Ethan returned back to the states, he and Connor, on Saturday. He was able to meet and spend the first day with her before he left. We all miss him, already!!

Friday, April 3, 2009

We are definitely excited about our visit with Olga, pronounced Olia, the 4 year old girl we visited with on Friday. She is a very cute and shy little girl. She has some minor health issues that we will verify with a specialist in the states and she has slight delay in mental and speech. She is working with a speech therapist and is having progress. She was very shy and did not want to visit with us at first. However, by the time our 2 hour visit with her was over, she cried to have to leave us. She opened up to us and loved playing with Drew & Gabrielle. We all enjoyed her and Drew & Gabrielle just loved her. She was laughing and playing and was able to enjoy herself a bit more than she is allowed to with the children in the orphanage. We are staying in the city and will be visiting with her today from 4 to 7 and then tomorrow for a few hours. We hope that all will go well and we will be able to give this little girl a chance for a good life with our family.

Olga came to the orphanage when she was 1 year & 3 months. She was taken from her mother due to neglect. The child was very afraid when she first came to the orphanage. They said she was always putting her hands in front of her face. She had to be in the orphanage for 1 year without a visit from a family member to make her available for adoption, then the children have to be listed for 14 months for Ukrainians to adopt. After the 14 months, then they become available for international adoption. She just became available for international adoption and we were the first to be able to receive a referral to visit her.

We are in a different area, nothing like Kiev. The conditions are much poorer in this area, so we will be limited on our internet access. We will do our best to keep everyone posted about our progress. So, if all goes well, we will start the process next week for a court date and then return home for the 10 day wait period.

Thanks again to everyone. We will be in touch.

Tuesday, April 2, 2009

Well we are off to visit another orphanage on Friday morning. Today we chose a referral to visit a 4 year old girl in an orphanage that is about 4 hours away. ( Sorry we cant remember the name of the city). She was our best option out of the children we were given to choose from. We will be leaving at 5:00 a.m. with our driver, George and translator, Olla. We do not have to travel as far as we did to the last orphanage. So, we are just praying that if she is the one then it will work out. If not, then we will be given another meeting with SDA.

Before the entire process is over, we will be returning home and then coming back to Ukraine to complete the final paperwork. We just hope and pray that everything works out.

We will post the outcome as soon as we are able. Take care and thanks for all your support and prayers!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

We spent the day walking and seeing the city of Kiev. The weather was sunny and cool here today. We walked around touring for about 5 hours, there is so much to see in this city. Also, great exercise!! Staying in the apartment makes me, Sheila, a bit stir crazy after awhile. All this waiting can make you crazy!! We finally got the call from Konstantin, our facilitator, that our meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, 4/2/09, at 12:00 p.m. So, everyone keep praying that this meeting will go well! We will post as soon as we know more information.
We miss everyone!! Talk with you soon!

Monday, March 30, 2009

We spent the morning with Olla, our translator, doing the paperwork to file another petition to meet with SDA. This has to be done in order to obtain another appointment with SDA for more referrals for children. Lots of waiting and paperwork!! Our translator, Olla is great. When we finished doing business she then took us to see the WWII museum located in Kiev on the Dnieper River. Sightseeing with Olla is great, since she can read and speak this language and English. Herbert doesn't have to use the Russian dictionary trying to translate words. We were also able to eat lunch and know what we were ordering. It's not easy trying to read menus in Ukrainian. Some places do have English menus, but then it is hard for them to understand what we are ordering since they have difficulty reading and understanding English. However, we are having a great time learning the Ukrainian way and their culture.