We're here, we met, it's all good!

Let's go ahead and start off with the good stuff!! Just to check and make sure you have a safe amount space around your screen we decided to post this pic sideways so everybody will have to turn their screens sideways. Ha, now you're reading sideways. Anyway, this is our second short trip back today! It is amazing. I won't start cuz I couldn't stop. We are loving the time spent with him so much. All the discomfort we've had to go through is irrelevant now!

This is basically how it went today. We hung around him, tried to entertain a little, and he tried really hard not to cry. He looks composed somewhat in this picture but the furrowed brow we have become accustomed to seeing was in full affect. This is the door to his room which is also his comfort zone. They prefer we take him out to the gym when we are visiting. There are several other children in his room. In the gym he's tense because he's away from all familiar faces. Before we went to the gym he was doing really great.

Today we saw him for about 2 seperate hours. We found out from here on out we can see him from 8-10am, 12-3pm, and 6-7pm. This is really cool and will keep our days busy I think. The caretakers at the orphanage were nice, welcoming, and seemed supportive of this adoption. Time will test many of these first impressions.

We haven't mentioned the train ride so far. It was 13 hours long, numerous stops, cramped, stuffy, and warm at times. Chris, Karen, Olga, Alex, and I all shared one cab until late when Alex went to sleep in another cab. Needless to say, we were all ready to get off!

We'd go on into more subject but, we are about to be timed out. It took awhile for me to figure out how to use the system here. Okay, until next time. Keep up with the comments and we love all you guys.

Off to Antoshka Tonight!

Since we last wrote we haven't done much except some tourist things. We found some interesting places to eat and shopped at the outdoor market which is basically some boths on the sidewalk. We are noticing other English speakers here and there (probably because we are in some of the popular tourists locations).


Today we got a late start out because we don't have a lot to do before we head out of Kiev tonight at 9pm. Once we did get out it had began to rain for the first time in at least a couple of weeks according to Chris. It is still cold too so its prime weather for the sniffs and sneezes! Whoo hoo!! I think we are all actually pretty healthy feeling except for Chris and his cold. Him and I staying up all night talking probably didn't help anything. We have great spirits and attitudes right now. Personally I was excited to be pro-active yesterday in having the meeting at the SDA. Olga was actually able to represent us to get our referral yesterday instead of us having to be there like we originally thought. All is going according to plan still.


We do have a few pics so we hope ya'll enjoy!

Chris has apparently converted our bear into a Russian bear hence the hat alla Sean Connery in Red October! (In the living room at the apartment)
Karen showing off our fancy digs. This is the lovely bedroom.
Karen and I in front of "Olga" not to be confused with our facilitator. This Olga was bad.
Chris and Karen in front on St. Michael's. We have more but this is all we could post for now.

Till next time....we love you all and thanks so much for the posts. We were very excited to see we had 9 comments!!! to check out. Later.

Touchdown Kiev

Helloooooo.........
First of all we are sorry we are just now posting. Yesterday we were pretty worn out and could not find an internet cafe near by. We are so happy to update you guys now!
I will start from the beginning...When we arrived to catch our plane (for the second time) on Wednesday we were told it, too had been cancelled because the flight crew couldn't get there from the north. We then were told we would be put on a Delta flight to Atlanta, then Frankfurt and catch our original plane to Ukraine. We went to the Delta counter to check-in and they said the flight to Frankfurt was full! Eventually we got it all worked out and the final flight plan ended up with us in Atlanta for 7 hours, then Frankfurt and flying Ukrainian International Airlines to Kiev. We were worried a little, but it ended up going smoothly. (By the way, there were no luggage charges for the Ukrainian airlines, as we thought there might be...yesss!!)

So, we arrived in Kiev yesterday at 2:45pm. We were very happy to see Olga our facilitator, then her boyfriend Alex and Chris! our cousin!! They were sights for sore eyes. We spent the rest of the day walking a little, trying to get a phone card (but really didn't know what kind to get) and eatting at a little pizza place. The pizza was great by the way! We had plenty of jet lag to deal with so we didn't last beyond 8:00pm.

Now on to the interesting news. We had our appointment at the SDA this morning at 11:00. The people were very nice and we felt comfortable there. We were told a little about Lance Ivan's family...mother was born in the 80's, the dad was unknown, he has a brother who was adopted by Ukrainian nationals in 2002. As they say, the mother had an immoral lifestyle because she does not work...whatever that means. We were excited to learn that we could take Lance's picture from his file because we had one of our own to exchange for it!!!!! Good tip for prospective adopting parents. Maybe I can take a picture of it and post tomorrow. I tried to ask a lot of questions about getting the five days waived and other things but they said I have to talk to different officials. We will get our referral today! Unfortunately, Olga already bought our train tickets for 9:00pm tomorrow, so we will have to wait one more day to see Lance anyway. John Michael will get to meet him at approximately 10:00 on Saturday! It has already been approved. I found out the SDA (head of adoptions) will be closed the 30, 1, 2, and 9th, but open between those days. I also found out they might waive the 5 day wait if Olga calls and asks, but not for sure (see itinerary for explaination.) So, overall, everything is going very well in the process.
Now we are going to get something to eat...have not eatten anything yet (it is 1:00pm) and go to the outdoor market. We pick up our referral at 5:00 tonight.
Love you guys!!
Karen and John Michael

1st change of plans

Okay...well, our flight has been cancelled until tomorrow now. We will be leaving at 6:00am out of Austin instead of 12:00 today. Fortunately, we planned an extra travel day just in case something like this happened. Praise God!!! We will still arrive the day before our appointment if all goes well. As good as that sounds I have to admit I am pretty disappointed and a little on the sad side. It will all work out. There is a plan even if it isn't like mine. :o) Well, to make things a little better, I think I am going to go to the outdoor mall here. hee hee!

Will post again when we arrive in Kiev!
Karen

Whew..leaving in 15 hours!!!

Hello everybody!
This is Karen this time. I am figuring out how to post on our blog for the first time. Hopefully together we can keep this up almost daily.
Well, today has been busy with church, visiting with family and last minute shopping. Oh, let us not forget the process of packing, weighing the bags, repacking, and repeat numerous times. We eventually added a smaller bag just to avoid extra fees and hassle. All we have left to do is cut John Michael's hair and we will be ready for the trip. We even packed the car already to avoid hysteria with our dogs in the morning. (Don't worry they will be spoiled at my parents.)
I just wanted to check in for our loyal family and friends. We love you guys. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Also, specifically pray that we will be able to get through Washington Dulles tomorrow with the storms in the north right now.
We will most likely not be able to post for another couple of days due to travel time. I look forward to hearing from everyone.
:o) Karen

Itinerary

We just wanted to post an itinerary of our travels. This is just a rough estimate of when and what well be doing and when we might possibly be heading back.

April 16th - Leave Austin, TX->Washington D.C.->Frankfurt, Germany->Kiev, Ukraine
April 17th - Arrive 1:05 p.m. Ukraine time. FYI: Ukraine time is 8 hours ahead.
April 18th - Kick it with Chris in Kiev.
April 19th - Appointment at SDA. This day or the next we hope to get our referral and go to the orphanage via 15 hour train ride over the weekend to meet our son!! Karen's 3rd time and my first.
Next 5 Business Days - After we make it to the orphanage we'll be doing paperwork and visiting Lance twice a day. Once all the necessary paperwork for this phase is done it will be sent to the SDA, probably within the week. Paperwork arrives and five day wait begins. Papers are then returned to us after the five days.
May 1-2 - Ukraine Holiday We won't be able to get anything done on the holidays and it could possibly delay their productivity.
May 9th - Ukraine Holiday
We should have court within the next couple of days to become official parents!! Ten day waiting period for anyone to refute our adoption of Lance. Next 1-2 business days we'll be doing more paperwork in the region for birth certificates, etc. Take another 15 hour overnight train to Kiev. Next day or two will be used to get Lance's medical exam, visa interview, and pick up visa.
May 18th?-31st? Fly out next day!!

As you can see it will be very difficult to predict how fast the process will go. We won't be able to give any straight forward answers on dates.....especially when we will be flying back. We will post when something happens that might give us better indication of timing. Hope this gives ya'll some idea of whats going on.
It has kinda begun already b/c Chris has departed as of this afternoon. He's starting his stay and will be waiting for us over in crazyland!! See you next time.

Just Thanks

In light of the journey we are about to embark on I wanted to send out a thank you. This process has gone obstacle free, besides slight delays. And I would still chalk that up to God's timing. We have been incredibley blessed and supported throughout the adoption. We are happy to report that we had enough given to us to make this trip worry free on the financial side of things. Believe us your gifts will be used wisely. Please continue throughout with your prayers and moral support. You are all unbelievable and we think it is so awesome that so many of our great friends and family (and even a few strangers) will have a hand in bringing Lance Ivan here to our family. Its just too bad we will recieve all the benefits of living with and learning from him 24/7! ;-) Thank you for serving and working for our Lord.

JM

BONUS LANCE IVAN Pics!!