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!