To Ukraine 4 Love: Court Date Set / Family & Friends Wednesday

WE HAVE A COURT DATE!

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2010 @ 10:00 AM

Yes, we finally have a court date. Sergey was back in town this morning early and had already been to see the local judge that will be hearing our adoption petition. He worked things out with the judge to hear our case tomorrow. The corrected court decree that has been our hold up is on its way.

Since I (Karen) have been posting, I find I am a little more sentimental and reflective in my style of writing than Kaden. Probably because I am an adult and already living the experience of being a parent, I am pondering the magnitude of all that is transpiring. Kaden will be back at it soon, but in the mean time this gives me an opportunity to share what has been on my heart of late.

Family and Friends. God has been so good to bless us with both a good family and good friends. The love, support and encouragement we have been given from both, along with God's leading has brought us to this place in our lives. (Which is) The day before our lives become forever intertwined with four beautiful lives (legally at this point for we have already been there in all the other ways). I just want to share my thoughts on how you all have been and will be an intricate part of these children's lives.

I look over and over these pictures that we have taken since we have been here. I see my children in this orphanage with what they know as a loving family. I am not belittling this at all, because I am in awe with this Internot. For an orphanage, they instill the knowledge of a mother, through the caregivers; they teach responsibility for tasks they are given and over the little that they can call their own; they are taught a good work ethic; care and concern for others, and their talents and gifts are sought, worked on and developed. It's incredible to me that an orphanage this size is able to accomplish what they do. It is because of the love and dedication of the people that work there. This is not just a job to them. They pour their lives into these children as if they are their own. The children feel it and bond with them and with each other in a dependent nature. Knowing how dependent I am on my family and friends, and treasuring the relationship I have with them, I am humbled that these four children trust us and love us enough to let go of what they have right now. After all they are children. They don't automatically look to what their future holds for them here in Severodonetsk. They look at what is here and now, and right now they are safe, there needs are being met, people love and adore them. Why would they possibly want to give this up for a culturally different world, new language, and so many unknowns? But again I realize this is not an ordinary orphanage. Yes, I believe these children love us and enjoyed their summer vacation in America with us, but again I have to give the orphanage and its staff the credit. They, I believe are the ones that talk to them and dream with them about their futures. They encourage them to look beyond what is here and now and see what could be in a land far away from what they know.

These are bright and beautiful children and although Steve and I will tomorrow take the responsibility for their lives, you are their future as well. You will be the ones to fill the spaces in their lives left void from the distance of those they love now and have to leave behind. You will be the faces in the pictures next to them. To be their extended family and friends that they need in order to help fulfill the need of belonging to a community.

In the next couple of weeks the children will be leaving their world and circle of friends to enter a different world far away and our circle of family and friends. It is a great comfort to us that our family and friends are warm, loving, caring and accepting of us and we know this will carry over to our new children. It will take time but we are confident that they will bond and blend in to our world and will be a blessing to both us and our family and friends. We realize this can only happen through God's grace and love. Thank you for being there for us to share and rejoice in our blessings. See pictures of children with friends.

Once again around 3 pm we made the trip up to Kristina's room to see if we could visit with her today. The caregiver explains she is not here and makes a call. She is with Larisa (one of her caregivers/mother) at her home along with her friend Ola. She tells us she should be back at the orphanage around 5:30 (maybe) so we head to the younger children's room to visit and play games with them. Around 5:30 guess who... Kristina. We tell the younger children good-bye and head upstairs to her room to visit. We explain about court tomorrow, just as we did with the younger children earlier and ask if she has any questions. She seems to be good with everything, it is just hard to read what is going on behind those dark eyes. Tomorrow will be a huge day for her and I think she realizes it more than the younger children. We gave her a camera of ours to allow her to be taking pictures of her and her friends during these last couple of weeks she is with them. See a picture of her she took or one of her friends took of her later in the evening after we left.

The last thing I want to mention is about something I planned long before our trip to Ukraine. I wanted to be able to share a symbol with the children after our court hearing that would reflect and magnify what was waiting for them in America. A home. A home waiting for them that would be their safe haven from the world, where they will grow up to be all God is leading them to be. A home they could forever come back to once they are grown and living their own lives as adults. I know this is not really found in the house structure itself, but in the people that share their lives within it. But again we are talking symbolism, so bear with me. I wanted something they could hold on to besides our hands that was tangible evidence of what was theirs as well. As they walk away from their friends, caregivers and the building that has been their home for the past 5-6 years there is a new home waiting for them. I shared my idea with Steve before we left home. He helped me put it together with even more personality than I could have. We together will share this gift with them after our hearing tomorrow. I'm not generally a touchy feelly kind of woman, but I feel I am in my last trimester of maternity and my emotions are on a roller-coaster. Thanks for sharing the wild ride and stay tuned for tomorrow's post about our court hearing and to find out what we gave them.