Passports and Surprises Wednesday - Day 32

Sorry its been so long since I have posted, we have been very busy getting stuff done, Wednesday we had to take Kristina to get some paperwork done because she is over 14.  Also, I will make shorter posts than my longer posts about adoption news.  So back to Wed., once we were done with that we headed to the orphanage to drop her off and then to drop me off at the hotel.  Then Dad and Sergey left for Lugans'k along with a few ladies that came along as a show of force, so to speak (For the passport office.) Yes, today we see if we can get 4 passports.  We are unsure about Lera's because one of her documents that is required for her passport hasn't arrived from Kiev.

Later in the day Mom and I get a call from Dad asking if we were sitting down or not, well apparently Nastya (Our Kiev facilitator) asks us when we are leaving to go to Kiev (which is Saturday) then she says that is bad, because Monday when we were planning on having our first US Embassy appointment, will not work.  The office will be closed due to it being a federal holiday.  We will need to leave tomorrow (Thursday) to go to Kiev.  The effect of this is mostly on the kids since we already told them we would pick them up Friday and take the train the next day.  When we told the kids we told Kristina first, she was very sad at the news but was okayish.  All the others were completely fine with it though. So we left the orphanage and went back to the hotel to wait for Dad and Sergey to come back, but all of what I said was bad news, the good news we have for today is that we were able to get Lera's passport!  Yes, we have all four!  Once Sergey and Dad got back we ate and got ready for the BIG day ahead of us.

No More Waiting Period, Tuesday - Day 31

Today we hit the ground running doing everything we could do whenever we could do it.  We met Sergey for breakfast and headed to the court house to pick up the Court decree.  When we got there, their was a longer line than usual and most of the place was packed.  But since Sergey knows a few guys we skip everyone and we are out in five to ten minutes.  We also went to pick up the kids old birth certificates and call the Vital Records Office at the town we are going to, and then the inspectors office.  After this we make the long drive to a town outside of  Lugans'k where the kids were born, and we take a few pictures.

Once we get to the Vital Records Office in the town we find that they are on their lunch break and to come back at one o'clock, so in the mean time we go to a small cafe and relax.  We go back and Sergey handles a few things then we go back to the cafe because the lady has to do a few things that don't involve us, but while we are there we learn of a little bump in the road, a problem with Lera's tax ID number which we thought was resolved (Which may mean we can't get her passport as quick as the others.  So in the mean time we decide to eat lunch there at the cafe and Mom talked with Mrs. Macy on the phone about their adopion and how things were going with them.  We had some Borsch (Nothin like a good bowl of Borsch on a cold day) and relaxed till the lady called Sergey back for us to come to her office.  We go there and wait as she confirms and inputs data for the new birth certificates.  Once she was done we were handed the birth certificates and had a short celebration!  Once we were done we rode back to Severodonetsk and went to the tax ID office and did a little stop there, and after this long day we go to the hotel and eat and then to sleep. We have along day tomorrow.

example of different look but same amount (One is just older
than the other).

Backside of the money.

Statues outside the little town.

The little town was established in 1688.

The sign for the little town's Vital Records Office.

At the cafe.  Mom is on the Phone with Mrs. Macy.

It's official!  The new birth certificates have Mom and Dad
as the parents!

Steve and Karen Rowell would like to announce the arrival of our 4 new children...

Kristina Amanda Rowell

Valeria Sophia Rowell

Lubov Claire Rowell

Vladislav Heath Rowell

Chillin with Lenin,
 You know I had to get a picture with
Uncle Lenny.

Day 11 of waiting period, Monday - Day 30

Today we woke up a little earlier than usual.  We headed to the market and bought some toys such as Twister.  Then we thought we would  head to the mall and get a few things.  After that we took a cab to a different store, because we couldn't find what we were looking for at the first store.   On the way there, we found that our cab driver could speak a little English, so he is our official cab driver now.  We ate lunch at the second store, and to tell you the truth it wasn't all that good.  Once we were done our new cab driver took us to the hotel and we got ready to go to the orphanage.  Mom went today and the kids were excited to see her.  We played Twister and had a good time, we ate dinner at the hotel and then Sergei showed up!  It was a great reunion and we enjoyed our time together for the first time in a week and a half.  Then we relaxed at the hotel and went to bed.    

Playing Twister.

Luba and the Twister spinner playing board

Lera playing Twister.

Vladik likes to hide under the bed and play games on
our phone.

Lera and Dad.

Luba and Dad.

Playing UNO.

ADOPTION UPDATE:  Yesterday, I gave a little information about what was coming up next since we are now past our 10 day waiting period.  I would like to shed a little more light on the subject today.  Tomorrow morning we will begin the paper chase again.  Part of our court hearing 10 days ago was that there would be a time during the hearing that the judge would ask what we are asking the court to do? "What are you asking of the court?"  Dad was to stand and respond verbally, giving the following four items out loud to the court...
1.  We ask the court to allow us to adopt the children
2.  To change the children's name to...
3.  Change the birth certificates to show us as the parents
4.  To leave the place of birth and date of birth the same (as is)
and Sergei translated it for us into Russian for the court's understanding.

So we will pick up the court decree granting this and drive to a little town outside of Lugans'k where all 4 children were born and request they pull the children's birth certificates and make new ones according to the court decree.  We pray they would take care of this in one day, but legally they have up to 5 days to do this, if they so choose.  [If you have been keeping up with us, you might remember, Lugans'k was the town we arrived in, on the train from Kiev on our way to Severodonetsk .  Sergei picked us up at the train station and brought us to Severodonetsk where the children live now in the orphanage.

Day 10 of waiting period! Sunday - Day 29

Today was another routine day, and day 10 of our waiting period!  This coming Monday Sergei gets back from his family and Tuesday we hit the ground running.  The plan is to go to the town where the kids birth certificates are and get them.  The town is close to Lugansk, a town about an hours drive away.  After that we will be doing various paperwork to get ready to head back to Kiev with the kids.  We plan to get the kids Friday and take the train back to Kiev on Saturday and spend the next few days finalizing the kids travel documents so we can bring them home.

Today was another lazy day, we hung around the hotel and did nothing until it was time to see the kids.  We decided it was best for Mom to stay at the hotel and for Dad and myself to go on to the orphanage so that's what we ended up doing.  We had a nice visit like we always do and told the kids what the plan was and outlined what basicly was going to happen to them.  Such as when we would pick them up and when we would head to Kiev and when we fly home to America.  They are excited but I am sure they don't like leaving their friends, especially Kristina.  After our visit we walked back and Dad nearly lost an eye to a tree branch,  but thankfully, his ear warmer slid down when the branch hit it blocked the branch from hitting his eye.  The rest of the night was spent as usual eating dinner and relaxing at the hotel.

Kristina's giraffe puppet.

Playing in Lera's room.

Playing in Lera's room

Playing in Lera's room.

Day 9 of waiting period, Saturday - Day 28

Today was another routine day, and day 9 of our waiting period.  We woke up late and ate breakfast and prepared to go to the orphanage, but on the way there we had an unexpected thing happen, close to the orphanage there is a tiny slope (now I am not talking about a hill, just like a step down) and there was ice there and Mom didn't notice it, so she slipped and fell.  She is completely fine but is a little sore and is taking it easy.  We went on to the orphanage anyway and played with the kids and afterwards we went up to Kristina's floor to visit with her.  We visited a little while and I noticed that the Elliott"s (Some friends that adopted a friend of Kristina's) were on Skype so I asked if they wanted to Skype with Kristina and they said they did.  So She and Ola (The friend of Kristina's) talked awhile and had a good time.  After all this we walked back to the hotel and from there we took a cab to Istanbulitsa and ate.  Then back again to the hotel to sleep.

Kristina Skyping with Ola.

Kristina Skyping with Ola.

Lera's Party, Day 8 of Waiting Period, Friday, Day 27

Today was our last going away party day, And today was Lera's turn.  At first she wanted to just have cake at the orphanage, but she called Sergei a few days before (Yes she actually got a hold of him without us, 11 year olds these days...) and said she would like to go bowling.  Well it's her choice so bowling it is.  I can always use a little more practice anyway and let me tell you I've gotten a lot better.  So we made our way to Lera's building and floor and waited for them to get ready, once we made our way outside we made the walk we have done so many times before.  We gave all our coats to the lady whose job it is to do so and then started bowling.  We had a good time as usual and then came back to the orphanage and left to go eat lunch.  We stayed at the hotel for a little while and made our usual trip to the school for our afternoon visit.  Everything went fine but Luba got a little bit upset at the end.  After we played with the kids and such we left and ate dinner at a pizza place and went back to the hotel for much needed sleep.

Lera.

Lera and Dad.

From left to right, Veeka, Lera, unknown, and Julia, Lera's
"Big friend"

Unknown, Lera, and Veeka.

Katya.

 Different Vladik, unknown, caregiver, Ocksana

Class picture.

Another class picture.

Running away from me because Of  snowball fight.

A different caregiver and Ocksana.

Katya, Julia, and Lera.

Unknown and Lera.

Veeka making a snow angel.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AGAIN!

Today Ukraine celebrated Christmas.  Although Steve, Mom and I celebrated Christmas on the 25 of December the kids here had no idea that we had.  We knew their Christmas was coming up and didn't want to confuse things since we have limited communication/translation with them.  So we enjoyed Christmas again with three of my new siblings and one of their friends (Katya.)

Reading the Christmas story Luke 2 in English followed by the Russian version then we sang 
Happy Birthday to Jesus.

Relaxation Day, Day 7 of waiting period, Thursday - Day 26

Today was our off day from parties, thank goodness that today we could sleep in.  When we got up we really didn't do much, just stay around the hotel and relax.  We did still visit the kids, and before we went there we headed to the market and got a few things.  After our visit with the kids we ate dinner and relaxed at our hotel.  Also, here are some pictures of some of the kids living facilities.

Outside the TV room in the hallway.

Hallway to all the kids rooms that live there.

That's a bathtub.

Closets.