My Best Christmas Ever

Do you remember this video from 2007? It was at this moment that I realized...they had my heart forever!

~ Felix ~

Some news

Well, we survived the first winter storm of the season. I (Felix) got half a day off on Wednesday and all day off on Thursday. The kids didn't have school on Thursday. Poor Heidi had to go to work, though. Everyone is back at school or back at work today. Eileen Christofferson came over for a couple of hours yesterday with Ann, Sophie and Anna. We popped some corn and watched a movie after the kids came in from playing in the two feet of snow in our yard.

We received word this morning that all is well with our adoption plans and that we haven't been forgotten. Here's what our facilitator had to say.

• The SDA confirmed that our facilitator's info was correct and R is indeed available this month
• We will not get an appointment this week or next, but rather the second week of November
• He expects an appointment for the end of November or the first week of December

That's good news because we were actually dreading news that we would be given an appointment within two weeks. Yikes! We know a couple of families that have been given an appointments that close from their submission dates. Wow!

In closing, we ask that you remember two families in your prayers. We lift these families up to the Lord as they follow His plan for them.

• Jim & Teressa, who despite heartbreak and considerable setbacks have marched forward for the third time this year to bring home not one, but two to three children from Ukraine.
• Bruce & Michelle DeYoung. Bruce is returning to finish up the work he and Michelle started last month. They are bringing home two teen-aged children from the same orphanage as R & Z.

~ Felix ~

Still Waiting

We haven't written a post the past two weeks because there is nothing to report. We are still waiting to hear about our SDA appointment. I had an epiphany that the minute I write something and question God's timing, then something will happen. This has been the case in the past, so, perhaps we will hear something tomorrow :)

Our facilitator told us last week that the SDA was giving appointments to folks submitted before the 13th of October. We were submitted the 15th, so we should expect word this week. Still, as of this post, there has been no news. Perhaps R isn't quite yet available and this is the reason.

We are having our first big snow storm of the season here in Colorado. The weather is nasty outside, but not enough to cancel our school district schools. Statewide, there are about 50 school district closings, but not our's. So, begrudgingly, our kidos marched off to school this morning and I drove to work with the 4-WD engaged.

~ Felix ~

Dossier Submitted, sort of...

It's clear as mud, but I'll try and explain it. Now stay with me here...

We received an e-mail today from our facilitator saying that he submitted our dossier. In his broken English he wrote that there were no problems with the dossier and that the SDA has it. Our next step would be an appointment notification. He said the SDA would look to see if R was available in October but that if she isn't available until November, he would have to come back with the dossier then...but they still took it.

I think that they want him to submit our dossier the month that she is available, but that they took it in case she is available in October, a fact the "dossier taker" wasn't sure about. He subtly reminded us that he has "unofficial" knowledge that she is available in October, something that the "dossier taker" didn't know.

So what are we saying? Yeah, we were confused too until we reread the e-mail several times...still are!

1. The SDA accepted our dossier
2. If R is available in October, the SDA will send us a date
3. If R isn't available until November, they will give the dossier back to our facilitator and he will resubmit in November, or December, or whatever month she's available.
4. Our facilitator is certain that she is available in October.
5. This is Ukraine, anything can happen...or not happen!

~ Felix ~

4 out of 5

The flu has descended upon the Longmont Internat. Four of us have caught it and are various stages of recuperation. I, Felix, started the fun on Saturday with a fever, chills and feeling like crud! I'm on the upswing now. Next to fall victim was Heidi on Sunday, with much the same symptoms. Kole followed on Monday morning and he has had three days of 103 to 100 fevers with a nasty cough. Nadia called home Monday afternoon from school with a fever and we went to get her. She's also had high fevers a couple of days, but she is doing much better than Kole. All four of us have been home for three days while Julia, the only one not sick, attends school. Today, Julia tried to convince Heidi that she was sick too by taking her own temp four times. No dice, 98.6! After a couple of hours she called home, feinting illness to which Heidi told her to report to the school nurse. If the nurse said she was sick and had a fever that would be proof enough for us. The phone never rang! We had a talk with her tonight about 'crying wolf'! Unfortunately for her, she probably will share in the fun eventually.

We are supposed to get our dossier submitted tomorrow, which will be tonight while we sleep. So, please keep our girls in your prayers. Also, special prayers continue to go out to little Natalie, who has been at the forefront of our thoughts since last Friday night.

~ Felix ~

Zina news, It's Official!!

God read my last sentence in yesterday's post and he sent us the following message today, as if to say, "Hey Felix, here's your itinerary. Now get off my back!"

Hello Heidi,

Rxxx, the lawyer from the orphanage, happily informed me today that the court decree on the termination of Zina's bilogical mother's custody became effective. The inspector from Kxxxx called him today and she is going to send him a copy of the court decree in order he could prepare the file for Zina for SDA in Kiev. Rxxx will do it as soon as possible. About this time next year you'll be able to adopt Zina.

O

Needless to say, we are ecstatic all over again! By the end of 2010, all of our kids will be home! Three consecutive winters in Ukraine! Now that's an itinerary!

~ Felix ~

Dossier Submission

Hi everyone, sorry it’s been awhile since our last posting. I wanted to hold off until Heidi got a chance to write about her trip. She’s been terribly busy catching up at work since taking off to go to Ukraine. She simply never has the time to stop, and neither do I. I usually write these posts over my lunch break or when I can’t sleep. Hopefully, we will get you a trip report soon.

We were notified yesterday by Oleg, our facilitator, that we can expect a dossier submission on October 15th! This is good news and I couldn’t wait to update our timeline over on the right side. If Rimma is eligible now…by all indications of other blogs and the SDA friendly stance on older child adoptions…we could get a SDA appointment around the middle or end of November! If Rimma is not yet eligible, we will of course, wait the month or two until she is. Oleg says that the SDA will time the appointment appropriately. Nothing says commitment like a Ukrainian adoption in winter. Here we go again!

We have been prepping our old house for sale since our renter moved out this past weekend. We spend every evening painting, running kids to practices, painting, cooking dinner, painting, doing homework and parent-teacher conferences and oh yeah, painting. Here and there I manage to hang a light fixture, too. So, sorry again for not getting a trip report out yet. Thanks for the understanding.

My dad has been with us for a week and a half. He arrived the same day as Heidi got back. Grandpa has been a great help to us and immediately bonded with all the kids. He too has a heart for the fatherless children of the world and gets teary when he hears the answers to his questions regarding our kids pasts and the status of R & Z. Now I know where I got it from! Dad has been helping with homework, fixing our old house, and even a little upholstery. We have been in need of getting our dining chairs and stools recovered forever and he just jumped in and knocked it out in a couple of days. Thanks Pop!

Heidi arrived with a case of food poisoning from the Air France flight. She and Carol apparently ate some bad French chicken. It also took Heidi a week or more to get over the time zone difference. She was going to bed way early and waking up at three in the morning. She seems to be sleeping better now. Heidi does all the painting at the old house after work and crashes once the kids are in bed. She’s a trooper!

Nadia, Julia & Kolya are all doing well in school. They each have surprised us in their learning ability. Mid-term reports came in last week and both girls had 2 A’s, 2 B’s and 2 C’s. Nice job! That’s not to say that we don’t have our bad days and each kid tests our patience from time to time. Julia continues to struggle with organizational skills, Nadia’s teachers are coaching her on not coming across as arrogant and know-it-all, and Kole gets a little whiny from time to time.

We miss R & Z terribly. There will be a day soon where we have all the kids under one roof. I don’t want to end on a bad note, but the orphanage lawyer is arguing that Zina is not registered yet and that this is the month that they go to court to fix it all. Our facilitators’ people (can’t explain here) tell us that she is registered. Who knows who is right? All we know is that we are forever committed to Zina and we will bring her home one day. We’re not upset by this information and after all, it is not up to us, but God’s timing. I do wish he would fill me in on it, though (lol)!

~ Felix ~