We Heard Someone Speaking English!

We met a woman in the marketplace today from the States!! It was so refreshing to talk to someone who actually spoke English! She was there finishing up the adoption of two brothers (age 6 & 7) who lived at separate orphanages in this area. She said the living conditions at the older brother’s orphanage were pretty horrible. Outdoor bathrooms, no hot water even for showers, etc. As they move out of the baby home they live in until age four, things go downhill from there. We had heard that was the case – her experience confirms it. This is her second time adopting here in Ukraine. She has two other children she adopted here about a year and a half ago.

Today we gave Juliana a pair of sunglasses to play with. I don’t think that she ever saw any before, because she squealed and laughed every time she put them on. It was adorable. There are so many things she has never seen that we can’t wait to show her. Even just little things that maybe we take for granted, she is just delighted with! It’s fun to see her reactions to new things. Wonder how she’ll do on the plane ride home?!! She’s beginning to get used to her name (we think). Every time we say “Oksana Juliana” she replies “nah nah” in a singsong voice. It’s so cute. Wish we could get it on video (see below). She’s also mastered “bye bye”. We can’t wait for the boys to meet her and to settle her into our family.

We are having serious technological problems and can’t upload any more video for the time being. The software we use to transfer videos from our camera to the PC keeps freezing up on us. Not sure what’s going on there, but we’ll work on it and will hopefully be able to get it straightened out this week. Can’t exactly call customer service from here. :-(

Seven days to court and counting!!! We have come to the decision that we will be coming back for Juliana in January. Although there appears to be a chance that everything (birth certificate, passport, visa) could be done just in time for us to bring her home by 12/31, just one delay in one step of the process would leave us stranded here for an extra 10 days or so due to the holidays (offices here all but close down 12/31 – 1/7 for the new year and orthodox Christmas). It’s going to be really difficult to leave her for almost a month (we’re leaving 12/12 and will probably come back 1/8 or so), but she’ll be fine and happy at the orphanage since that’s all she’s ever known. It will be tough on us, but not really on her. We’ll miss her terribly, but we truly feel, and Luba agrees, that this is the best decision. She said that this is not at all uncommon and it would be her recommendation. In a way, it’s a relief just to have the decision made. We can’t afford for Steve to be out of work any longer than absolutely necessary.

Thank you all, once again, for your comments, e-mails, and especially prayers. We’ve said it already, but we have truly felt God’s direction throughout this process and we are so, so grateful. Another month and we’ll have our daughter home for good. Can’t wait for you all to meet her – she’s really something.