All that needs to be said...

Arrived in Franfurt!

We made it to Franfurt, all is well! We are sitting here at gate C15 for the next few hours surfing the net. I spy a cafe nearby, so after awhile we may mosey on over there and have a snitzel or something!

I got my workout in today...we were dropped off at the old terminal in Kiev and our flight departed from the newly opened Terminal F! No kidding, it was about 4 football fields away and I lugged 100lbs of luggage through ice and snow. I got a little panicky when we were still in the check-in line with 15 minutes to board. However, we got through soon enough and headed through the security check point. Here, the line wasn't so bad. However, the customs and immigration line was backed up solid! I glanced at my watch noting that boarding should have started already! Yikes! Soon enough, we got to the front of the line. There we were with the only guy standing between us and leaving. He asked for our passports and gave them a good checking over. Next, he asked for my court decree and orphanage release letter...I guess to make sure I wasn't stealing her. He must have perused the documents for 10 minutes as I nervously glanced at my watch. After what seemed like forever, he asked Lizzie if she indeed wanted to leave the country. She responded, "Da!" I was very impressed with the new terminal, even though I had to trudge over there from the old terminal. I also liked that the immigration guys seemed to no longer have to take your passports and documents and disappear somewhere with them. It was all done there at the kiosk and we got the nod to proceed.

Up to the gate we went, which was supposed to be gate F5...noone was there! the gate next to it (F6) had a huge line, so eased over to the counter and noted that the gate for our flight had changed to this F6 gate. Whew, we weren't late at all! Lufthansa wasn't running on time. I thought German's were time-freaks! No offense to my German pals! Anyways, I was grateful for it! After a 10 minute wait we loaded onto busses and made our way out to the plane. Takeoff, the flight, and landing were a breeze.

Like I said, here we sit for the next few hours. Lizzie keeps commenting on the next long leg of our flight. "Wow, it's so long, Dad!" Yep, but at the end of it, is you my friends and Lizzie's new life! HERE WE COME!

~ Felix ~

No more days!

Going to the airport now. It's 3:30 am here (6:30 pm Colorado time) and the taxi awaits! Takeoff is scheduled for 5:35am and we arrive in Denver at 3:45pm. Lizzie and I are excited and anxious to be home.

Just like last year, we will be traveling through Frankfurt enroute to Denver. See you at those double doors at the international gate exit!

~ Felix ~

Day 26, Another Angel gets her Wings!

At 3:35 pm, Ukraine time, The Embassy issued Lizzie her immigration packet and visa! All work here is complete. We are coming home! Our flight leaves at 5:35am in the morning (Saturday)and we arrive at 3:45 in Denver the same day! Lizzie is going to her forever family! We will see everyone soon!


~ Felix ~

Day 25, Getting 'er done!

I'm at a resteraunt next to Karen Spring's apartment eating the finest Greek salad I've seen and tasted to date! They have free Wi-Fi too, so I'll fill you in before the Spaghetti Bolonese arrives!

- Arrived exactly on time in Kiev by train
- Had the best train experience of my life, some shake, no Bake, got 8 hrs sleep!
- Immediately wisked away to the Consulate by the amazing Nadia P!
- Got there at 9:45 am, called inside to see if I could go in early.
- Did go in early, done in 30 minutes!
- Went to medical got a doc who waived a bunch of junk required of older teen girls!
- However, Lizzie did require a blood draw, X-ray and a Hep B shot
- Done in an hour!
- Embassy visa appointment scheduled for 2pm, tomorrow.

I see that Heidi has posted and checked our tickets. Really, nothing stands in our way of getting on that plane Saturday morning. Oops, for got I ordered borscht, too. It just arrived!

Bye until tomorrow!

~ Felix ~

Homecoming Plans

Guest blogger time! It's Heidi here. I took the liberty of checking Felix's email to get some updates while he and Lizzie slept on the train. They will be running around quite a bit in Kiev today, so I'm posting for him.

The US Embassy scheduled an appointment for Felix and Lizzie at 10:30 AM Thursday, which in Ukraine time is only a few short hours from now, as I type this. So things are looking good for Lizzie's visa.

Also, Eldo successfully booked Felix and Lizzie to fly home on Saturday. They are scheduled to arrive at DIA at 3:45PM on Luftansa's flight #446 from Frankfurt. Hope to see you all there!

Please keep Clay and Selene in your prayers. They hit a major road block in their adoption of a 15 year old girl, after they spent a week bonding with and loving this child. Now they are back in Kiev trying to find a resolution. The dichotomy between the joy I'm feeling and and the pain they are enduring is hard to comprehend.

-Heidi

Day 24, Exiting Kherson!

We are DONE! All adoption requirements for Ukraine are complete! Lizzie got her passport about an hour ago and we immediately bought train tickets. We got the first class cabin...yeah! Barring something drastic, we will do the Embassy work in Kiev tomorrow followed by the Visa appointment on Friday. I have already called the Embassy and left a message with them. I am awaiting their return call. After I get done with this post, I will call Golden Rule and change our flights to Saturday morning. That will put us arriving in Denver around 3:45 pm Saturday. This will be the last post until tomorrow evening, after we have visited the Embassy and have run some errands. Whoo-hoo, Praise God! Slava Bogu!

~ Felix ~