Our one year anniversary!!

Last year, Jan 22,2010, we arrived in the USA with our new children , Christina and Kolya. I have learned several things that I will share with anyone that may actually look at this. I have been urged by many friends to update this blog but to be honest I am just too busy. I also feel that sharing more intimate details of our lives this past year would be a violation of trust to Christina and Kolya. So even though we were very honest and truthful about many of the trials we went through in Odessa, Ukraine, once we set foot in the US we felt we should be careful of what we shared. So I did not share on the blog.

Here are some of the things that God has taught me over this year.

The biggest revelation is that love is a choice. Just as God chose to love me, when I was turned against Him, with no inclination toward a relationship with Him, God still chose to love me before I had any desire for Him. In fact He brought me to himself and through His great love changed my heart and my entire life.

The first 6 months were the hardest times I have ever faced. 2 kids that had been given no love and therefore no discipline, no guidelines for life and family, no idea of what was involved in being part of a family, well, it was tremendously hard. Especially as I homeschooled them, so it was 24/7. My loving husband came home for lunch to break up the days for us and when things got really tough he was only a phone call away. There were many times that he came running home to work through some of the difficult times. BUT never, never did I more deeply realize how it must have felt to Christ when He chose to die for the same people who spit, hit, ridiculed and ultimately put Him to death. Jesus chose to do this. Dan and I choose to love Kolya and Christina...no matter what. I think that it took a long time for the kids to realize that no matter what they did....they are Edwards and they were not going back to Ukraine!!

So I can now testify that we have 2 of the sweetest and caring children around. Are they perfect? Am I? We are still parenting through things but just in a normal way. No extreme behavioral problems. We know that never will the effects of being an orphan be totally erased but through God's loving Spirit, He is melting their harden hearts and teaching them to love and care for others.

Through all of the above, the kids have learned to read and write to the extent that their Russian is almost all gone. In fact they both read and write better in English than they ever did in Russian. That does not mean they are up to their age level in academics but we just keep plodding along. One of these days they will probably ease into public school but we want to make sure they are ready.

Below are pictures that show the past year. The highlight was on December 25, 2011 - all 6 of my children were under the same roof for the first time in history, ever! It is amazing that a year ago on Dec 25, 2010 the kids legally became ours in Odessa, Ukraine. Christmas is indeed a celebration of what God has done for us.

Remember the good times when the bad times happen!! - advice from our adoption councelor

Some of the new things that we have seen with the kids.

They have never played by themselves. We have about an hour after lunch for rest time. They play quietly in their rooms. Mostly they listen to music. Kolya has discovered how to play without anyone. He has learned to play and make things with legos and built a garage for all the match box cars that he has inherited from Jake who inherited from Jim and Stuart. It has taken awhile. At first he would just rearrange his room. Then he started playing with all the cars. Now the legos came out and he is playing. Even though he always complains about the rest time, he is the one that truly plays by himself.

Christina started to play with a lego play house. This was one that was in the attic from Erin. She said that she did not have anything to play with during the rest time so one afternoon I got it down and showed her how to play and set it up. I would ask her where to put the sofa or the sink. She could name the room it belonged in but she did not know how to pick which room to make into the kitchen. It took us the full hour to clean and set it up. Then she and Kolya played with it for another hour. Kolya loved it and got out the other legos. He then built the garage. Christina then lost interest. She has gone back to listening to music and eating sunflower seeds during rest time.

She has wanted to skate since we were in Odessa and the kids ice skated. I looked deep in the garage and found Jake's old inline skates. Perfect fit and she is off! She did not do well on the scooter that Kolya is zooming up and down our street on. But now she is zooming up and down the street on skates. She does the best on the walking trail around the baseball fields. The walking track is level and we went around and around for about 1 hour today. I walk with Haley, our dog, Christina is on skates and Kolya is on the scooter. They have to stay within eye viewing of me. They like to get ahead and hide but I had to explain that it is dangerous for them if Mama can't see them. Today they were great and stayed within sight all the time.

School is slow but sure. We try to do at least some school every day - Mon-Fri. There are so many doctor visits right now that some days we only do one or two things.

Stuart saw the kids when they first arrived over 1 month ago. He came to visit again yesterday and could tell the difference with the language. Their command and understanding of the converstations is great. They just cannot always communicate to us.

Just tonight after I had prayed with Kolya, was trying to tell me something about blue sky, sun, clouds, face, Jesus. Around and around we went. He even drew a picture of the sun, blue sky with a cloud and a face in the cloud. The word sounded like neighbor, or neighbook. Finally I figured out that he was saying that Jesus was up in heaven. The word was the Russian word for heaven. He knew that Jesus had ascended into heaven and that Jesus is in heaven!!!

If it is really serious and important to them and after several frustrating attempts to understand we call our friend, Anya. But normally we can draw, act it out and use the Russian dictionary to figure out what is going on. On medical details we get together with Anya.

We went to the dentist, which could have been a great time of fear. Most dental care in Ukraine for orphans is pulling teeth without anesthesia. So I followed Lauri Taunton's suggestion. Jake went in first and the kids watched everything that happened to Jake. Then they got their teeth cleaned, xrayed and examined. The results are that all 3 went to the orthodontist. Kolya needs 2 baby teeth pulled - the teeth are half the correct size because of decay -and 2 adult molar filled. Then will need spacers to hold the teeth in place until his adult teeth come in. He is having them out next week and then the spacer the next week. Christina has 1 tooth to be pulled as it is a baby tooth that is in front of an adult tooth that has already come out. She also has 2 baby teeth that have small cavities that will need to be filled not pulled. Jake has crowded teeth and needs braces!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!

After the dentist appointment without Anya, we went to her house so that I could tell Christina and Kolya what was coming up. Both seem fine and loved the orthodonist, who is from our church and had already met the kids. We will see how the teeth being pulled next week goes :) !

Many, many people have brought us food. Thank you, thank you! After a particularly hard day of dealing with school and behavioral problems, I am so thankful NOT to have to think about what to cook for dinner. I thank you all so much as I know many of you are also praying for us daily!!

In Him Alone,

Leslie

After many requests I will try to blog again!

Many friends and family have asked how we are doing and the answer is that we are fine. Does that mean everything is smooth - NO!!

Yesterday, after a couple of hard days, Dan gave me the whole afternoon off. I did not know what to do. I went to Target, ran some errands and then went to a movie - Percy Jackson, etc. I was very tired, depressed and deeply depressed. I was wondering what we had gotten ourselves into, was I going to be able to make this, my love for the kids was there but the desire to be with them was not there. Then I lost my keys to the car. After much searching and calling Dan, the customer service desk at the theater had them. Driving home after a half day off, I was almost in tears of depression. I had been praying all day off and on but I was praying with great despair. God brought to mind the verse that I have the power of God, the power that raised Christ from the dead, within me. Not me, not my positive mind, not all the pep talk, but the Holy Spirit. I realized that Satan had been lying to me all day and I had been listening. I greatly rejoiced to hear and realize anew that God was the power, He is the only way I can make it and He has been the One doing it all this time. I had taken my eyes off the cross. Immediately I felt a lightening of my chest and my depression was gone. I returned home still tired but with a joy in my heart.

After all that you may ask what has been happening, well, here is the truth. Adopting 2 is harder than adopting 1. We knew this going in but still it is hard. But as I sit here, which one - Christina or Kolya - would I return?!??? The answer is neither. They are my children - good or tough times.

The first week was a breeze. The honeymoon time. Having fun exploring their new lives, family and environment. Even school was new and fun.

Second week- the limits were tested, rejected and tested again. Phones were put up, keys to cars are now put up, passwords on computer, etc. It was like 2 toddlers trying out all the limits at once. What can we do, touch, explore and what are you going to do about it! School was no longer new and the old orphanage school was forgotten. No school was declared many times this 2nd week!

3rd week - was the week of rebellion - nothing held back. Spitting, biting, opening doors on moving cars, no seatbelts, etc. This was a very tough week. Many positive going forwards after the testing but each battle was so draining.

Dan finally verbalized what he was seeing. Christina's default is to say "no!" and say it loudly. That is like a red flag in my face. But if I do not react and just move forward then generally she will do what I ask. This is not how I work with kids. This IS now how I work! It is working and today was much smoother. In fact there was not one major behavorial issue. There were several no's but we just went on. This is not giving into her but working around her. She needs to be gently lead to obey. I was trying to shove her to obey.

Kolya was even beginning to act the same way as he saw that Christina was getting all attention. So we started showing more attention to him in good ways. Making sure he had all our attention at times. He has certainly responded positively to this.

As you can tell, today, Sunday, has been a good day. Tomorrow may not be good but we will move forward. I know that Dan and I can do this, love Christina and Kolya, bring them into a family relationship and share the gospel of Christ with them. We can do this because God is so big, so good, and this is His plan. How delighted we are that He has allowed us to be part of their lives.

So far we have had a 4-5 hour visit at the International Adoption Clinic - lots of lab work done, good results, pediatrician visit with H1N1 shot, Tb test - negative, and then meeting with the specialist at UAB for their first visit and flu shot. The test shows that their immune systems are doing so well that no change of medication will be made at this time. This week we have dental visits. Jake is having his check up first and then Christina and Kolya will have their dental visits. We also have a eye doctor apt. and an hearing test apt. Then on the 22nd of Feb we will be doing developmental and speech testing for over 5 hours. With 2 it is takes longer. So we are keeping the medical community busy.

Our friend, Anya, has gone to all the appointments so far as our interpretor and friend. She has really made it less frightening for the kids and all the visits have gone well.

Thanks for continuing to pray for us. We need it every day! There is so much that is going well: sleeping through the night - no nightmares, no bedwetting! Bonding - they love to be held and cuddled, rocked and loved! Both kids love Jake and seem to be adjusting well to family life. Eating: they both like a lot of foods - no spicy foods yet but they are trying. Anya has given me some hints on favorite foods so that has helped also. They love our dog, Haley! That really was a concern that they would be scared of her, or mean to her. However they love her, play with her, feed her and argue over whose room she will sleep in at night.

In Him Alone,

Leslie

A beginning!

Life is always changing...it is just a bigger change at the Edwards' home right now.

Culture shock has hit not just the kids but me! I was warned but really did not believe it. When I pulled out the silverware drawer in the kitchen...the second silverware drawer were I keep the extra serving spoons, knives, measuring spoons, etc. I thought "What do I use all of this for?" When I first walked into Western and there was so many choices of fruit and vegetables, leaf lettuce... I counted 5 kinds. All clean and pretty. I had a list and after I went through the cashier line I realized I could carry all of the groceries in my 2 cloth bags like in Odessa.

The first place out of the house I went to was the dry cleaners. I was cleaning Dan's suit and our many jackets. I got out to talk to the man and he smiled and spoke English. All the signs were English. I could read and understand. It has given me a feel for how Kolya and Christina must feel completely surrounded by English. Their comprehension is much much better than ours was in Russian.

Funny things the kids have done:

Brushing teeth with a sonar care toothbrush. Learning when to turn it on and off. The first couple of times the toothpaste spun off. Then they learned to not turn it on until it was in their mouth. Then they would go to spit and splatter when they take the toothbrush out without turning it off. The bathroom is messy!!

They were both excited about all their clothes. It did not matter if they were used or new. They were thrilled that the clothes were theirs. They had been excited for the small amount that we brought in the suitcases for them. Christina kept saying, " Christina's, Mama?" Kolya loved his clothes. They both amazed me by what they like. Their styles and tastes are pointing to personality. For Christina, glitter and sparkle and she will wear it. Kolya loves soft clothes.

They both love Haley, our dog. I have had to explain that Haley is a Babushka - revered older lady in other words a grandmother. Kolya wanted Haley to get up and run but she was ready for a nap!

Both the kids want Haley to sleep in their room. So one night Haley's bed is dragged into Christina's room and the next night is Kolya's. They also like to walk her on the leash. However we have been walking with the Megginsons and they have a new puppy so the kids take turns over the puppy.

Behavior problems are less frequent than in Ukraine. However we had a major blow up today. So please keep praying for us. We need strength, love and God's awesome power.

In Him alone,

Leslie

WE ARE HOME!!

We arrived Friday night to a great welcome at the airport!! Family and friends greeted us, cheering and clapping as we walked toward the entrance. Several other passengers were asking each other, "who is the celebrity?". I turned around and said, "see these 2 kids, they are the celebrites!". I went on to say we were returning from adopting them and that all these crazy people were our friends!! So sweet!! Signs of welcome, balloons, stuffed animals, flowers - WOW!! But especially faces of love and lots of love!!

We have seen a change in both kids as we are now home. Both are so happy!! Christina was still hesitant even Thursday before we left Kiev on Friday. Mainly the unknown was scarry! But she watched the map on the plane and when the plane had finally passed into America, she was excited. "America now, Mama?!" Both kids were very excited. They are now dual citizens of USA and Ukraine.

Thanks to all who have read this blog and prayed with and for us. I doubt that I will post many more but feel free to contact me at dedwards3420@charter.net if you would like to contact me.

Again we give God all the glory and honor for the adoption of these 2 kids, Christina and Kolya. We continue to ask Him for the next adoption of both Kolya and Christina into His family for eternity.

In Him Alone,

Leslie

We are going home!

Got the visas to US without any trouble. Changed tickets to leave 5:30 AM Friday arriving in B'ham 8:35 PM Friday!! YEAH!! We are going home!! Kolya excited, Christina scared! Pray for us! Thanks.

Need to get some sleep. We wake at 2 AM to get to the airport:( But we are going home :)

In Him alone,

Leslie and Dan
Christina and Kolya

Arrived safely in Kiev!

We got in last night about 10 PM. The kids were either in Odessa or in Kiev. They could not understand the in between even though we explained even with our interpreter that it would be 5-6 hours, until 10 PM that we would get to Kiev. They had never ridden in a car for a long trip. They had taken trains to camps and the short car trip from train to the camp. They were very good. Quite excited.

We got to sleep after 11:30 to wake up around 7:30 AM. We had an appointment with the US Embassy to start the paperwork for the visas at 9:30. Then to doctor for medical appointment. We have lots of forms to fill out. Tomorrow we have an interview at 2PM to turn in the papers. And everyone thinks we will have the visas back on Friday.

We leave early, early on Saturday morning. We have to be at the airport at 3 for our 5 AM flight. That means we leave the rooms at about 2 PM. Oh, well, no doubt but we will sleep on the planes.

We are in rooms in the same hotel that the Taunton family stayed in Kiev. It has a little grocery in the basement on the end of the building. We came with very little food so this morning we had hot tea and oranges only.

How the kids were doing? They are doing well. Some hesitation over the doctor but we had Sasha , our facilitator, explain how little of an exam it would be. And it was very short and sweet. Behavior, apprehension at each step then once we are through the step, joy! When Dan came home with the passports we all cheered and danced through the flat. Our landlord was sitting, waiting for us to leave. He just smiled but on the inside I am sure he was laughing!

Keep praying. We are almost home!! I pray thru out the day that the Lord will allow us to leave on Saturday. I don't even pray for the details, just that we can leave on Saturday. I do pray for us to be content with whatever His will will be.

In Him Alone,

Leslie

Leaving Odessa at 3 PM!!!

Got the passports at about 3 PM. Getting in a car to drive to Kiev now. Pray for safety as it is snowing and we are heading north into more snow!! Next message should be from Kiev!! Then the USA on Saturday!!

Please pray for us to get the visas from the US embassy by Friday for our flight on Saturday.

In Him Alone,

Leslie

Quick Message

I write with a much lighter heart in one sense.

We got a call this afternoon that another facilitator was at the
"closed" passport office and someone had found some old passports that
would work. Dan ran down and gave them the passport pictures. We
may have the passports in the morning! We are scheduling to drive to
Kiev as soon as we get the passports tomorrow.

As I am typing this, Kolya is yelling "Snow, Snow" in English:). I
look outside and it is not just light dusting of snow but big flakes.
All of the other snow is gone. We will see what this means for driving
tomorrow.

We have also talked with our travel agent and are trying to get
tickets on Saturday for all of us.

That is it. Do not know if this will all work this way but I am
packing ALL the suitcases!!

Thanks for praying...keep it up!

In Him Alone,

Leslie

Changes we have seen :)

Food: When we first had the kids they ate a lot and all day long. Even after eating they might take what was left over with them back to the orphanage plus a banana. I took juice and food with us wherever we went and usually they ate it all. There was no real hording but there was definitely over eating. We had been told to let them eat even to the point that they got sick. They never got sick!!

Now they wake and eat a light breakfast of fruit or cereal before they take their medications. Usually they drink tea in the morning - we have become a family who likes tea!! They do not usually eat until lunch which used to be their biggest meal. We will eat Borchst or some soup, sandwiches - open face, fruit and maybe some nuts or sunflower seeds. They will take a rest for about an hour - this was the usual routine in the orphanage and we see the profit of it! They will eat a mid afternoon snack of sunflower seeds or fruit or sausage- "cal-ba-soo". Then a regular dinner with maybe or maybe not a snack before bed. No hiding of food but if they want to save a sandwich know that they intend to eat it later.

We find that the major serious fights between them occur about sunflower seeds and money!! They hid their money from each other. This is so like siblings. I remember this with our kids. They even find secret places to put their money so that the other one will not know where it is.

Tempers: We found that there must not be much discipline in the orphanage. I really cannot understand how the kids survive..again the survival mode. We have seen that they got their way even about school if they threw a tantrum. The bigger the tantrum the more they are NOT made to obey. However we do know that some of the caregivers have used belts to discipline so I think that the extremes are found there.

So when we first would tell them "no" we knew there would be a full blown tantrum that lasted 1-2 hours. We took them into separate rooms and prayed, sang hymns and worked through the tempers until they cooled down. Then they obeyed. We have found that the longer we have had them the shorter the tantrums. Only 1 or 2 were hours long. As they have determined that we mean business and we are not going to back down even if it means hours, they in return are obeying quicker. Even today I had a disagreement with Christina. I told her to get dressed, she said "no". So we went into the room. There was no throwing things, no yelling and we quickily worked through it. Now we do have communicate conflicts. So if it gets major I called a friend - sounds like Wanna be a Millionaire?! I do not want conflicts that are not understood. So we take it on step at a time.

Even as I am writing this we have had a 45 minute conflict which has ended with "Mama, I am sorry". However I cannot discern real repentance. She just got tired of arguing in the bedroom. She had to stay in the bed 10 minutes, then look at me and say, "Mama, I am sorry."

We have been able to allow the kids to return to the skating rink after almost 2 weeks when we had a major blow out upon being told "no". We have explained and they know for they ask every couple days if they can skate. Their behavior has improved to the point that we told them we would go today. We told them we would do 3 things: ice skate for 45 minutes, bumper cars and shoot guns. When we were finished we walked to the magazine with only one question and when we counted the 3 things that we did, all was well. The pictures are of today's skating and fun!

I truely would have wanted in "Leslie's plan" to have returned asap. However God's plan has allowed us to attend to behavioral issues on a 24-7 basis that would not have been possible at home in the States with Dan leaving for work. Again as always His plan is for our best.

"Ok, Lord, what do you want us to learn by allowing us to stay longer without passports?" Maybe we will know and maybe it will be awhile before we figure that one out!

Sergei, our facilitator, left yesterday. He is a dear friend and helped us work through the adoption process. He successfully got the process completed. He cannot control the passport office. He will still be letting us know about when our passports come in or checking on it. He will not be here but at his home. Pictures are of our going away lunch with him. We took him to an Irish pub. He had never had fish and chips, I am not sure these were original but he had them!

At this point we have no new information about when we will get the passports. Please continue to pray for us to be patiently waiting for the Lord!

In Him alone,

Leslie

3 of us are stuck in Ukraine!!!!!!

Hello to All,
.............news about the Passport problem is not good.
Our faciliators here and the US Embassy in Kiev have
confirmed that the blank passport problem may be a
long-lasting problem. According to the Embassy, the
Company who prints the blanks has not been paid by the
Ukrainian government, so they refuse to print additional
blanks. Apparently, nothing can be done.  The Embassy
claims that those at the top know all about this issue
and have contacted the State Department in America.  The
Adoption Representative at the Embassy told me that some
old blank passports were found in a few offices and a
couple of families got out this week.  But we are pretty
certain that no blanks remain here in Odessa.

I have emailed the offices of Spencer Backus (House) and
Jeff Sessions (Senate) to make sure they know how stranded
we feel.  In addition, I have emailed the US Embassy in
Kiev. I have played the kid's "health issue card"
everywhere I can. Maybe that will help. If anyone has
other ideas, please let me know.

Currently this is our plan.  Our tickets are for next
Wednesday (20th).  I plan to fly home then unless something
breaks before. Leslie will stay here in Odessa until we get
the Passports.  When that happens, I will return to assist
with the kids on the return flight. Our apartment in Odessa
is available until mid-February, we believe; so Leslie will
stay here due to the familiarity of the area and support
she has with the missionaries. She is confident that she can
handle the kids here by herself until I return.

Thanks for your prayers,
Dan

I am not necessarily "confident" but I know that God has
been in this process from the beginning. Why should I doubt
that He will be here with us now!!

IN HIM ALONE,

Leslie

They are all ours!!

Today was the final paperwork that when accomplished made Kolya and Christina ours. The court has given us a 12 day waiting period which was extended until after the holidays when we could get an inspector to come and sign documents and officially give us the kids. Nothing can take them away from us now!! Christina Joy and Nikolay Joseph are Edwards!!!

While at the orphanage we were finally able to give the snow boots to the kids who were not at the orphanage before the holidays. Luda, Dima, and Sasha - all brothers and sister came in September. The team that came in October met them then. Also Kostya, a special friend of Fred Hendon, received his boots and a letter from Fred. He sends his thanks to Fred!!

We also took pictures of kids wearing scarves, gloves and hats that were donated and brought in October. Also there is a picture of the TV and DVD player that were donated in October for the kids who stayed at the orphanage all the time...the true orphans. There are about 22 true orphans who do not have a home or the home is not suitable for kids. Of the 22, there are/sorry, were 7 adoptable kids, now 5 adoptable!! Vica is 16 and graduating this May, Maxim is 14, Vitalik is 6, Vova is 6, and little red hair Sasha who is 6 - he has recently been moved to Orphanage 34 in Odessa. I will include their pictures in another blog. Please pray for the kids left behind as we leave with Christina and Kolya!!

Now that we have the kids we want to come home. However both of the kids need Ukraine passports. We just heard a report that the passport company had not been paid and therefore were on strike and so there are no blank passports. There is a rumor that we are trying to track down, that we might be able to expedite the passports. We are working and praying for this to happen. We now have tickets for Jan 20th and we would like to use them.

In Him Alone,

Leslie

Events of the Day!!

Hello All,
............just a brief message about some breaking news. We had a
great day. Got the court decree, the new birth certificates, the
kids' new tax id numbers. Thanks to Darlene Quarterman who took great care of the kids while we waited for several hours at each of these offices.

But then we all went to the passport office. Apparently, all over
Ukraine, there are no more blank passport forms/folders. This means
that once the passport information is processed and approved, there
will be no way to display it and take it with you. So in effect, one
cannot get a passport. The passport office took all the information
and took the kids' pictures, etc. but could not begin processing the
data. They asked that we call back tomorrow once they have more
information. So please pray that this will not be as difficult a fix
as one might imagine. There were three other American families at the
Passport Office, so we all are in the same boat. I suppose there are
many more.

The kids are Ukrainian citizens and require Ukrainian passports. Since they are Ukrainian citizens with Ukraine passports they also require a visa from the US to enter the USA. We cannot apply for the visas until we have passports.

The US Embassy in Kiev might be receiving a bunch of phone calls
tomorrow.

Just wanted to let you know how to pray,

Dan

What lies ahead...

Today, the court offices and offices of vital records re-open from the holidays. Our wait-period was over on Thursday so things pick up today. We hope to be out of Odessa by Wed/Thurs, then up to Kiev. It will probably be Wednesday at the earliest of next week before getting home. We are ready to be back. As you know, the kids have
been with us for three weeks. Their time with us has been extremely
valuable, but has been exhausting. They need constant attention and we have
been giving it to them. We can't wait to get home to establish a slower
routine. Again, we can't wait to get back. At the missionary worship last
night, we told the missionaries how much we loved them and loved being with
them for a while, but we hoped not to see them again until our next missions
trip. It has been great to be with them.

We have just found out that the judge is ill today.....so we have to wait
another day to get the court papers. We can proceed toward
getting passports, though.

We got our petition for the kids' passports completed and signed at the notary's office. A notary in Ukraine is almost a lawyer with several years of extra college type study.

Tomorrow we leave the flat at 8 AM to start all the paper work. To be quiet honest I am not sure what we have to do but I will do whatever our facilitator, Sergei, says! Sergei has returned from the holidays with his family to finish up the week with us. We have to get old birth certificates, present them for new ones with our names as the parents of Christina and Kolya. Although both were born in Odessa, they were born in 2 different regions so we have 2 office of vital statistics to go and apply for the birth certificates. Also need their tax number, kind of like a social security number. We need to apply and get the passports. We also need to be officially presented by the inspector - at this point I am not sure which inspector it is - the kids at the orphanage and the kids will pick up their belongings.

Darlene Quaterman has offered to take the kids tomorrow for us as it will be very tedious for them. THANK YOU, DARLENE!!!

Kolya has already packed his bag and his back pack. They both are going around the apartment asking what is going to America and what is staying. I finally was able to have Sergei explain to them today that only what fits in 4 suitcases, 4 carry ons will go to America. When we took down the Christmas tree today, they were a little sad that it was not going to make it to America. But when we explained the difference with the electricity, this was done by showing the 2 types of plugs not with a lot of words, then they were happy to pack it up for Sergei to take home for his family.

It was rainy today. It was Christina's turn to go to the magazine - grocery store - with me. We find it easier to separate on shopping. We have a list that she carries. She gets to push the cart, which by the way goes in sideways as well as forward and backward. When shopping you have to decide how much you can carry and prioritize in that way. If all 4 of us go, we buy more. If just 2 of us go, I have to carry it all so we buy less. I really will miss walking to shop. I really do like it!! Strange!!

We also separated when we went shopping for shoes. Kolya and I went first. The shoes are very nice shoes but in the stores you do not pick a style you find your size and see what style is available. Fortunately the shoes Kolya picked out were in his size! Then we went over to the back packs and had a fun time picking out his back pack. As I have stated at another time, the kids like to watch Cars in Russian and that is the back pack he chose. We returned home and then Dan took Christina to get her shoes and back pack. They were very excited to get shoes to wear on the airplane to America. The shoes have velcro, not many laces here. Both Christina and Kolya have snow boots but that is all. So this was really big in preparing for coming to America!!


Thanks for everyone who has been praying for us. Many have emailed or facebooked us to encourage us. It is working. We had a good day today. Starting to see them working at their anger and resisting a tantrum. Also the word "skate" came up again and was met with "no" again. They did not even try to fuss. Dan and I have agreed to no ice skating here however we know there is a rink in Kiev and if it works out we will try it again with out the rest of the carnival to distract. The kids had really improved from holding onto the side all the way around to going around without any help at all!! So we will probably try again in Kiev. More pics to come!!

In Him Alone,

Leslie

Pictures of the infamous carnival and more!

The carnival was fun. My mother will love the pictures of the kids trying to decide which eye to use to fire the gun. The bumper cars were crazy with each of us ramming each other...the kids were driving!!!

There are very sweet moments like when they wake up! Even though they sleep in separate rooms they always get up and go to find the other person. Laura Gorham told me she was so glad we were adopting 2 not just 1. There are great advantages of having 2 kids at one time. There are also disadvantages. But their friendship is a great thing.

Then there are the not so good hair days! I decided to look like cousin IT from the Adams family!

The last picture was of Christina. She wanted her hair put into pigtails for church. She looks so nice.

Church yesterday was a sweet time of worship in the morning with the Russian church and in the evening with the MTW team listening to John Piper preach. In the morning we read Isaiah 52 and I was reminded that God has gone before us AND that He is our rear guard. In the evening from Romans 6:12-14 I was reminded of my great sin, my salvation from the penalty of my sin in Christ alone, but my response is to "Let not sin reign in your mortal bodies". I was again reminded of my own sin and that sinning is a choice that I continue to choose...I need to let not sin reign in my mortal body.

In Him who deserves all glory and honor,

Leslie

After the Hugs and Kisses....

Very tired from several days of parenting our kids. Don't get me wrong, we love them and are so glad they are our kids but Mama and Papa are tired! We want to go home and be in our own bed!!

Ok, pity party is over!!

We have taken the kids several times to ice skating and to the other misc rides of the small carnival. However no more carnival.... since they both got very upset when we said no after ice skating, shooting guns, bumper cars, etc. They are normal kids that will keep on going as long as you keep on paying out the money, grevna. So yesterday was the last day of the carnival for us. We can still look out the balcony window and see it, still hear the music, even walk pass it on the way to the mall, grocery store is in the mall, but no more carnival. And you know what, both of the kids understand why! Russian or English there are consequences to bad behavior. They asked if they could go skating and we said no. They looked at us and said nothing at all. That tells it all.

Really, the last 2 days have been tough. We are tired and ready to be in the States in our home. Please pray that we will finish the race well here. We know we have about 1 week left so that makes it feel worse instead of better:)

However these last 2 days have made us fully lean on God alone. Sometimes we say that and we mean it when we say it but when you get in situations that there is nothing you can do but pray and be still, and wait for the Lord. Then He works right in front of your eyes!!! You are seeing the Holy Spirit changing a heart, tears are coming from eyes that a moment ago were full of anger....and you have done nothing....it is God alone. Why do I not keep that mind set!! I have to be hit over the head before I really get it!

All this to say it has been a tough day but we are glad we are here and that God is here with us.

In Him Alone,

Leslie

Hugs and Kisses

Just spent last 1 1/2 hours watching Cars in Russian with English subtitles. I was snuggled up to 2 wonderful kids who have been kissing and hugging all night. What is the Visa commercial...PRICELESS!! Where was Dan? Oh, he was sleeping so that he can get up at 3 AM to watch the football game...ROLL TIDE!!

Here are some miscellaneous notes:

Vica is the wonderful lady in the apron. She is a sister in Christ who has been praying for us and our kids. She and her husband, Oleg, are members of the church here in Odessa. Vica has been our cook for one day a week. She shops and then cooks several meals and is a real blessing to me. She has shown Christina and Kolya great love and friendship and they look forward to seeing her here at our home and at the church.

When we asked the kids what their favorite food was, it came out...McDonalds!! We know never to say the "M" word unless we mean it. I had wanted to make the whole trip not ever stepping inside a McDonalds but now I cannot even count the number of times we have been to one. We all have our standard orders. The kids immediately inform the person behind the counter that we speak English which means we may be shuffled off to someone who can speak alittle English. I have now started ordering a 2 patty gyro type something! I like it, no cheese, no fries unless I cannot resist and then I steal Dan's! We have lots of toys from McDonalds, many duplicates, and balloons with the backward R, the heart and then McDonalds. I Love McDonalds!

The close up picture is of Sasha Taunton, pardon me, Alex Taunton. She is Christina and Kolya's friend in Alabama. We were talking with her via Skype and Christina took her picture, well, the picture of the computer with the image of Alex:) they had a good time talking, part Russian, part English and a lot of singing and laughing. We hope to do it again soon.

The middle picture is one that I thought I would never see. Christina with a doll. Dan was all excited about getting a doll for Christina for Christmas. Well, she never even took it out of the box. To spur her on to playing with the doll, Dan and Erin changed her clothes and played with her. Christina never took any interest at all. Last night as she wanted to hug on me while she went to sleep, in desperation I said she needed a baby doll. She looked at me and said "Yes". Not really thinking that she would want it, I thought she might not understand the words, "baby doll", I went and got Hannah. She took it and said that Hannah was sleepy. She took off her dress clothes and got Hannah ready for bed. I quickly got Dan out of bed to see this. He took Hannah and sang to her while Christina just laughed at her funny Papa. Then she went to sleep with Hannah tucked under her arm. This morning she dressed Hannah and tonight Hannah is in bed with her again. I showed her the above pictures and for some reason she loved that I had taken it of her. It shows the only quiet side that we know of Christina! :)

The last picture is what I look like each time I sit here at the black round table in the living room of our flat. It may be late at night like now or early in the morning or some rare times it may even be while the kids are up. I enjoy sharing our experiences with you all. Thanks for the many who have been praying for us. KEEP PRAYING!! Today we had several episodes with both kids but they were quickly worked through. I think they are seeing that we will not allow unkind words and actions and we will hold them to this. Please do not stop praying. I feel like the apostle Paul except he was usually saying that he was praying for so and so. We do pray for many of you as we hear the needs. Being a part of the body of Christ is a great privilege!

In Him Alone,

Leslie

12 day waiting period ends today!

Court day was USA Christmas day. Twelve day waiting period is over on Ukraine Christmas. Yeah! Praise the Lord who has worked in every aspect of this adoption process!

Monday we start the new birth certificates and passports. We will find out an approximate time of leaving!!

Today we went to a worship time at the EPChurch. After the worship was over then the children put on a program with memorized speeches, a girl who played the flute and singing.

The youth group then presented a very interesting play. It was about a Christian man who fell asleep and dreamed that Christ had not come. His friends visited and he said Merry Christmas but they did not know what he meant. He explained and as he explained, the rest of the youth group acted out the nativity story. Then a philosopher came and the young man tried to explain through the Bible but the Bible was only the Old Testament and without any prophecies of a coming savior. He was greatly distressed knowing that his only hope was in Christ's paying the penalty for his sin. Therefore he was doomed. It was really quite good in presentation and thought provoking. He then awoke from his dream and rejoiced that Jesus did indeed come as a child and was crucified to pay the penalty for our sin.

This was all in Russian so Christina and Kolya took these pictures and heard it all. We had a translator telling us the story!

We went back to the flat for Borscht and then went ice skating, bumper cars and other rides. As we stood waiting for the ice skating, a couple with a 13 year old boy said are you the couple from America adoptiong Christina and Kolya? They had been watching our blog as they too were adopting from Ishmail- forgive me for the spelling. As our kids were ice skating we enjoyed a time of sharing our stories. The mother had actually met Kevin - he chose this name from the movie Home Alone, in an airport, then hosted him and have now adopted him. They too are waiting for offices to open to get passports, etc. I did not realize others were following this blog but we are following others also:) May God bless each of you who are in the process of taking care of God's children!!

Have had trouble with blog...Sorry!

I have tried and Erin tried to enter a blog and it would not work. The last blog was a fun day of ice skating on Saturday.

We then had horrible Sunday. We were hit in the face with the realization that we are indeed in a spiritual battle.

Woke Sunday morning, leisurely got up, showered, dressed. When we told Christina and Kolya that it was time to go to church, their faces got ugly and their talk became harsh and then they ran up the spiral staircase saying "no!" when we asked them to come down. I immediately asked Erin and Jake to start praying. Dan picked up Kolya and Christina came down. We got coats, boots, gloves, etc. and off to church with 2 very mad children. We held their wrist so that they would come with us, they kicked things. We entered the church and for 2 1/2 hours (worship was long because of communion) the kids sat calmly and quietly. There was still an undercurrent of anger but it did not surface during church.

However as soon as we stepped out of the building Kolya immediately became defiant again. They had both wanted to go to the carnival near our flat. We were planning to go after lunch but Kolya was so angry he would not walk with Dan. We got back home and Dan immediately went into the room with Kolya. I took in lunch and they were in their for over 2 hours working out things. We are not spanking as they are not yet ours so Dan was doing a lot of waiting, praying and loving. The rest of us were praying also. Christina understood that a consequence of Kolya's anger was that no one got to go to the Carnival. The rest of the day went well but we stayed home.

Erin and Jake spent the evening playing "Settlers of Cataan" at the Quatermans. Jake came in the victor! We had spent a quiet evening with the kids.

We do realize that there is a spiritual battle but seldom it is so evident. Satan can have no victory over Dan and I but he can attack us through the kids. We must pray for their salvation. We are truly in a battle for their souls right now.

Monday we walked over 45 minutes to the Dolphinarium. It was a long cold walk but we had a lot of fun! The dolphin show was very good. Then we ate pizza and walked back. I am sure there were buses but since we did not know where we would end up and none of the buses looked like the right number, we chose to walk back in the low 20 degree weather with light snow flurries!

There is still an under current of anger with Kolya. He is fine until we say no about something he thinks he should get. We are praying for him and working through this with him.

Tuesday we took Jake and Erin to the airport to return to the States! We got news that they have arrived safely in Chicago. They spend the night there and return to Atlanta today, Wednesday, at noon. We miss them . I thought Christina was going to cry! Even Kolya was very quiet on the ride home.

Today is Christmas Eve. Yes, it is here again:) The Ukraine Christmas celebration of Christ's birth is on Jan 7th so tonight is the Christmas Eve service and tomorrow a Christmas pagent. We have already told the kids today that we are going tonight so we will see how it goes.

We are ready to be home but do not think we will be able to leave for 10-14 days. We ask for your prayers!

In Him Alone,

Leslie