4/11/2003 We got
in to Warsaw on the 8:20 Aerosvit Airlines flight from Kiev.
Both other
times we rushed to the airport after our Embassy appointment, and
then
sweated getting through the lines in time to catch the flight. This
time
we went to the Kiev Embassy the day before, so it was much less
stressful.
We made it through customs OK, we didn’t have to count money
this time
and they did not search our luggage either like last time.
The passport control
officer this time took about 10 minutes
scrutinizing documents and talking
to Snijana. I don’t know what he was
saying, but I wonder if he was trying
to find some reason to hold us
up. Pat thinks that he was holding out for
some money. I don’t know,
perhaps. We were the only person in our line,
and we were at the end,
so who knows. After we got in to Warsaw, we
checked in to the hotel,
then walked over to the Embassy. I had filled
ut all the papers ahead
of time, so that was a piece of cake. After,
we went to lunch and then
Pat and Jana went clothes shopping in
Warsaw, and I went back to the hotel to watch CNN. At
3 PM I picked
up the Visa
(which had a mistake – we have learned our lesson from last
time).
The Visa was fixed but I hate to think what would have happened
if I had not caught
the mistake. We went out to the same restaurant that
we always go to
and ordered the same thing off the menu as both times before.
We got up at 4:45 on
Friday and made it to the Airport in plenty of time to catch
our 6:45
flight home via Amsterdam. The flight from Warsaw to Amsterdam went
smoothly, and the layover in Amsterdam was short. The flight from
Amsterdam
to
Newark was interrupted by a medical emergency and an unplanned
landing in
Gander,
Newfoundland to
offload the passenger so that he could be taken to a hospital. By
he time we landed,
offloaded him, and took on fuel, we were looking at an extra 2
hours in the plane.
We landed in Newark
and quickly processed through customs and INS, which was
better than our
previous experiences in Dulles. After that we had to go try to get
a flight home since
we had had trouble finding a flight home when we bought
Jana’s tickets.
Luckily, we got on a flight, but with a 6 hour layover. Well that
layover turned into
about 8 hours because of wind, rain, and fog. We finally got
home totally
exhausted after midnight. Today we are just regrouping, putting
stuff
away, and spending
time with the kids.
I will add more
photos to the site later. It is nice to be home.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
4/09/2003 This
will be the last update from Ukraine we hope. We got our plane
tickets
to Warsaw today (which had our names misspelled so we had to return to
get
them fixed). It snowed off and on today, but no accumulation, and
right now the sun
is out and it is still snowing. It is about
freezing. It has been a long time since I saw
icicles hanging from
rooftops. We went to the US Embassy in
Kiev today, and the last
task is to go tonight to pick up
Jana’s medical documents from the
American Medical
Center. We
leave for Warsaw on an 8:20 flight tomorrow morning, then an 11:30
appointment at the
Embassy in Warsaw. We will do some strolling around Warsaw for
a few hours, go the
same clothing store that we go to each trip, and pick up Jana’s visa
at 3 PM.
In the evening we will go to the same Jewish restaurant that we have
been to
both times before.
It seems like a ritual by now, although this will be the last time,
really.
Really.
********************************************************************************************************************************************
4/08/2003 Today we
just spent inside most of the day. Today we had the second snowstorm
in
two days. Today’s was worse I think so I am grateful that we had court
yesterday. Pat and
Jana just went to the market to buy some last minute
food items to get us through until Thursday
morning. Today Dima and
Alla and Oleg and Mum have been running around taking care of details
for us and the other family that is here. Jana’s passport should be enroute
from the region via
bus to Kiev, where it
will be picked up at the bus station. Tomorrow we have an embassy
appointment in Kiev
at 11 AM. We leave Kiev Thursday morning at 8:30 AM, arrive in
Warsaw
shortly thereafter
for our 11:30 AM appointment at the embassy there. We anticipate
leaving
Warsaw Friday morning
early. I will post the itinerary separately when we have it nailed
down.
At the moment we are
having trouble finding a seat on our flight for Jana, so we may have to
totally change all
our tickets around. So far we have her on a wait list. The
other family that
is here is also
having trouble getting their flight changed as well. We guessed
pretty good when
we would be
returning, but we did not purchase a ticket for Jana when we bought
ours.
********************************************************************************************************************************************
4/07/2003
Hello all;
We are glad to tell you all that we got the 30 days waived what a
relief. We will believe it
actually when we step foot in Warsaw, but I
think that we can be relatively assured that we
will probably return
home with Jana sometime this coming weekend. Oleg and Dima pulled
it
off again.
Last night Jana became very emotional because we had prepared her that
we might have to
leave her and come back for her. She and all of us had a fitful
night of tossing and turning.
We all finally fell asleep to the sound of rain. I took that as an
ominous sign, because it was
near freezing outside.
We awoke at 5 AM to a snow covered ground. Dima arrived at 5:30 at our
apartment. We
were to be picked up at 5:45 by a driver to take us to Gorodnya. Oleg was to follow an hour
later so that he could run around
and take care of all the documents after court. I had a bad
feeling
about the snow. I figured that it would be OK in Kiev, but we were
traveling to Gorodnya
which is out in the country, and I thought that
either they would be getting more snow and ice
out there, or the roads
would be worse than Kiev, or both. All I could think of was that couple
that was in an accident in similar weather back in November where the
woman was killed and
the man was seriously injured. I told Dima that we
would not get in the van if it did not have
seatbelts. When the van
arrived, Dima checked, and sure enough, no seatbelts. Dima quickly
called Oleg, and he sent the driver away, and Oleg arrived about a half
hour later. Our court
earing was set for 9 AM. Gorodnya is 2.5 – 3
hours away on a good day. We got in Oleg’s car
around 6:20 AM. The
roads, as I thought, were very bad, especially out in the country up
towards
Gorodnya. We arrived at the court house about 20 minutes late.
That turned out to be OK because
we had to wait anyway. Here, when you have an appointment, it does
not mean exactly, but
rather “sometime around” the appointment time, most likely after.
Court was very short, the judge was very nice and understanding, and we
were on our way
around noon, after we finished up with the court documents. We
went to the orphanage so
that Jana could say good-bye to some of her friends and her brother, and
so that she could pass
out gifts to some of the kids. She had to leave her things there
because they were locked up
and the guardian with the key was not going to be there until 3 PM.
We just had no time to wait,
and anyways it was still snowing hard. We had to drive to
the village that Jana was born so that
we could get a new birth certificate issued, then on to the Region
capital to get it legalized.
We will have to wait until tomorrow to get her passport as we ran out of
time today.
If all goes well we may be able to make it to
Warsaw by Friday, home Saturday. I will return
home Friday
if we have to wait until Monday to accomplish what we need to in
Warsaw, Pat
will stay and finish
up.
That is about it for now. Thanks to everyone who prayed that we
would get the 30 days waived.
By the way, Oleg’s other family that is here now also got the 30 days
waived – they got a beautiful
14 month old girl.
From Kiev, hopefully only a few more days,
Love Kelly, Pat and Jana
*******************************************************************************************************************************************
4/06/2003
Today
we went to Saint Michael's Cathedral in Kiev. We met Dima's Mum and
sister there.
They are very nice people. Afterwards we went for a
walk, all of us plus Dima M, Oleg's
brother who drove us. We wandered
over to Saint Sophia's cathedral. There are many beautiful
cathedrals
here. Pat picked up a few more gifts, I took a few more pictures, and
then we
returned home(home?). We stopped in at the little magazina
(shop) on the corner near our
apartment and I bought some pastries. The
woman yelled at me "skolka, skolka!!). I knew
what she was
saying, and I replied "Tree" and held up 3 fingers, but I guess she was
not satisfied.
She
bagged the pastries for me and threw down my receipt with contempt on
the counter.
I guess she
does not like Americans who try to speak (poorly) her language.
This
afternoon we have been reading books, hanging out, and just cooling it
before our big day
tomorrow. At one point all 3 of us were laying on the bed reading.
Jana is so easy.
We
all have to turn in early tonight so that we can get up at 5 AM to make
it to Gorodnya for
court tomorrow at 9 AM.
If
it were not for the worry about the 30 days and missing our kids, this
would be a relaxing trip
although I must say that once you have "vacationed" in Kiev, there
really is no need to come back.
Keep
praying about tomorrow's court and the 30 days.
****************************************************************************************************************************************
4/05/2003 Today we met with the other family
that is here from Florida and we went to an
American style restaurant, even though I have been
saying that I want Ukrainian food. We then
went to a flea-market type place so the other family
could shop for toddler clothes for the kit
that they are going to adopt. We both have court
on Monday. It is a bit chillier today and it is
supposed to get colder with snow showers forecast for
the next two days. We just wait, play
computer games, read, eat, and drink tea. We
really miss our kids.
***************************************************************************************************************************************
4/04/2003 Nothing new to report. We have just
returned back from an "excursion" to a park
near the Parliamentary buildings. The weather was very nice,
sunny, about 54 degrees. We also
went to where all the souvenirs are sold and Pat picked up a few things.
Right now we are sitting
in the kitchen, Pat and Jana are reading. Jana loves to read thank
God. She is such a neat person.
Quiet, happy, lovable, playful. We have really gotten to know each
other these few days and I am
more convinced than ever that we were led to her by God's intervention.
She is so sweet,
considerate, smart. She loves to just hang out with us, sitting
close, holding hands. She is always
ready with a wide smile, a hug, and that look that says "I love you".
I am absolutely blown away by
the depth of this child's personality and character. I just don't
understand how a kid can turn out this
way coming from her environment. As I look at her now, she
gives me one of those smiles. Having
this computer also has been a God-send. I can keep up on the news
of the war, of course keep in touch
with others back home, and the games such as Mahjong, "bubble blaster"
and solitaire have kept us busy.
I have been able to chat with the kids at home, and it makes it
seem not so far away when you can do
that and no be pressured by the phone bill.
************************************************************************************************************************************
4/03/2003 Today we had a wonderful day and actually forgot for a
while our impending court date and
worry about the 30 day rule. Our court date and time is Monday at 9
AM. With the 2.5 hour drive to
Gorodnya, that means an early day rising Monday, but that's OK with
us. The sooner the better. We are
hoping for a "hole in the law" that allows us to take Jana home, but
we will see. Today we got a jump
start on Jana's health exam, we got her blood drawn and a Chest XRAY
taken. If by some minor miracle
we get to take her home, it will just require a short visit to
complete. We went to the American Medical
Center which was MUCH nicer than the Ukrainian place that we had gone
to on the other occasions. We then
went to the city center and strolled the underground mall, bought
some Russian language books, some Russian
music CDs, and just had a nice relaxing time. I got a REAL cup of
brewed coffee at the mall, and Jana and Pat
had some Baskin Robbins ice cream. We stopped at the "ABTEKA" where
I bought Jana's friend Irina some
asthma inhaler medicine. On our way back we took lots of pictures,
some of which I will try to upload.
Everybody keep praying that the 30 days will be waived. Later from
Kiev.
************************************************************************************************************************************
4/02/2003 We found out last night that we can't go to court until
Monday. What is worse than that is
that they are either strictly enforcing the old rule about a 30 day
period of appeal or they have a new
rule that says the judges in the regions can not waive the 30 day
period. Oleg has 2 families here and we are
both confronted with the same problem. That is a major
disappointment. Snijana does not know yet, but
when she finds out that she will have to go back to the orphanage,
she will be devastated. We will probably
return to USA on Tuesday or Wednesday, and then one of us will have
to return to Ukraine a month later. This
is very depressing. Today we are going to just take it easy and
continue our recovery from jet lag.
*************************************************************************************************************************
4/01/2003 We went to see Snijana today. She did not know that we
were coming. When she was
called to come down, she thought it was an April fool's trick. She
was so surprised! Dima caught a
great photo (check trip photo page). We spent some time at the
orphanage and then got to bring
her back to Kiev with us. We are hoping for a Friday court date, but
that is not definite yet. We
also heard a nasty rumor that no more will the courts be allowed to
waive the 30 day appeal which
means that we will have to leave her here and come back to get her
after a month. That would
not be the end of the world, but it would mean another trip, foo.
More later.
**********************************************************************************************************************
3/31/2003 We got the authorization to go to Gorodnya. Heading
there at 0700 on Tuesday
morning. We can't wait to see her.
*********************************************************************************************************************
3/31/2003 We had our appointment at the NAC. Everything was ready
for us. The psychologist
who is an older man actually smiled. He seemed like a nice man. At
the moment we are waiting
(Dima is at NAC) for "direction" or authorization to go to the
orphanage. We hope that we get it
signed today so that we can go to Gorodnya tomorrow. We are doing
well, staying upbeat, etc.
More later.
***************************************************************************************************************************
3/30/2003 6:02 PM Kiev time. We made it safely without a hitch.
Oleg, Alla, and Dima were
at the airport to pick us up. Our apartment is GREAT, and BIG. It
is in the center of the city,
near the NAC. We have a 2 PM appointment tomorrow at the NAC. Keep
your fingers crossed!
***************************************************************************************************************************
3/28/2003 We have been running around frantic these last few days,
we can hardly catch our breath!
Just hoping that Alana doesn't break an arm or anything before we
go. Anna just learned to ride a bike
too, so that is a disaster waiting to happen. Colin is already
asking "when will you be back?" The next
update should be from Ukraine. See ya!
***************************************************************************************************************************
3/25/2003 Congratulations to Kim and John L. who completed their
adoption of Maria (2.8) and
Andrey (6), and should be Warsaw bound on Thursday.
We are all set to go, although I have not packed yet, will probably
leave it until Friday nite.
I have loads of pictures of kids that we can bring over with Frontier
Horizon in the summer. If you
want to see the photos, drop me and e-mail and I will send you a link
to view them.
*****************************************************************************************************************
3/22/2003 For the past couple of days we have been scrambling
around to make arrange-
ments. Child care, arranging for crisp new bills from the bank,
shopping airfares, and packing
have taken up some time. And of course there is the War. We hope
that things are over by
next Saturday. Pat has cobbled together arrangements for taking care
of the kids while we are
gone. It always makes us nervous when we leave Colin especially.
*************************************************************************************************************
3/17/2003 Happy St. Patrick's day. All our kids dressed in green
including the Chinese one
and both Ukrainian ones. Today we learned that we have a 31 March
appointment. We had
a glitch in our plan to go the the NAC separately, though, as the
director refused to give us an
appointment unless we were both there. Even though there is no law
or requirement that both
must go to NAC, she makes the rules, so we both go. Now we must run
around and make travel
and childcare arrangements. Snijana has no idea that we will be
coming for her so soon. We can't
wait to see her.
*************************************************************************************************************
3/14/2003 It is so frustrating dealing with these people. Because
our Dossier had a notary
stamp dated 12 March, it was deemed too "quick" to process it because
of the appearance of
undue expediting thru the system. We must wait until Monday to get
assigned a "number" to
wait in line for an appointment. I guess that our hopes for a 24
March appointment are dashed,
but we are holding out hope for the 31st of March.
*************************************************************************************************************
3/12/2003 The translated Dossier is back at NAC (way to go Oleg,
ONE day to get translated),
now awaiting approval by the lawyer, and then getting an appointment
assigned. We are
hoping to get appointment on the 24th as it looks too late to go on
the 17th (although we
would go at a moment's notice).
*************************************************************************************************************
3/11/2003 The Dossier has been picked up and brought for
translation. It will be ready to
take back to the NAC tomorrow. With any luck we will get an
appointment soon thereafter.
We also sent a second packet meant for Oleg to pick up which
contained photos of Snijana
with us, letters from Snijana, other letters from us, and a letter
from Anna written in Russian.
Also, we included the "Crossing Cultures" newspaper article that was
in the paper. I don't see
how anyone with a heart could see all that stuff and not know that
she has to come home to
us as soon as possible. The workers at the NAC kept it and would not
let Oleg take it. They
said that they were going to give it to the Director.
**************************************************************************************************************
03/11/2003 The Dossier has been delivered to the NAC. Now it has
to be picked up, trans-
lated, and brought back to NAC for approval, and then we get an
appointment. This could
be quick, or we could wait. We are ready to go with just a few days
notice. We feel like we
are racing the war.
****************************************************************************************************************
03/07/2003 We just got a call from Jeff Doyle to tell us that our
dossier is authenticated and
it will be shipped out tonight via DHL. Transit time to Ukraine is
usually 4 days. We are hoping
it will arrive in Kiev next Wednesday, the 12th of March. We will
press to get an appointment
at the NAC as soon as possible after that.
***************************************************************************************************************
03/06/2003 Still awaiting word that the documents have been
authenticated at the Ukrainian
Consulate and are on their way to Ukraine.
***************************************************************************************************************
03/03/2003 Dossier delivered to Jeff Doyle in Washington, DC at
9:58 AM today. With any
luck, authentications will be done by the end of the week, early next
week at the latest. The
Dossier has to go to US Dept. of State first, then to the Consulate
of Ukraine. We expedited
service, which means a whole lot more money and quicker service.
After this, Jeff Doyle
will send to the National Adoption Center in Kiev. It will arrive
3-4 days after it is sent.
****************************************************************************************************************
02/28/2003 Dossier authenticated at State level, on its way to
Jeff Doyle in Washington DC
for US Dept of State authentications, then Ukraine legalizations. We
hope that this is done by
the end of next week and the dossier will reach Ukraine by early the
following week.
****************************************************************************************************************
02/27/2003 Dossier arrives in Richmond @ 10 AM. Awaiting
authentications.
****************************************************************************************************************
02/26/2003 Dossier to Richmond today.
***************************************************************************************************************
02/25/2003 I-171H arrived today. We will send Dossier off
tomorrow.
**************************************************************************************************************
02/24/2003 Received Visas today. Still no I-171H. War looms.
*************************************************************************************************************
02/12/2003 Home Study submitted to INS. I-171H countdown begins.
************************************************************************************************************
02/11/2003 Home Study completed.
************************************************************************************************************
02/06/2003 Visa applications sent.
************************************************************************************************************
01/15/2003 Fingerprints at INS
***********************************************************************************************************
01/08/2003 Home Study started, I-600A submitted to INS.
**********************************************************************************************************
01/04/2003 Snijana returns to Ukraine
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