Alot going on.......... PAPERCHASE!

 

 

Selah continues to be "alright" but not normal.  Her heart rates are all over the place and she always goes higher than her machine is set at ( 140 a minute)  around 3 am despite PRN doses and her regular dosages of Valium and Clonide.  The nurses and I are following and charting everything.  She doesn't seem upset which is wonderful but it's just not right.  No storming since she has been home.  We still think she is just recovering from her illness.  She is still on antibiotics, nothing has changed, she hardly has to be suctioned (maybe a few times in 24 hours)  It's still unnerving to us that she is not herself!

 

Tonight Shad was chosen to take the ball out at the Tampa Bay Storm vs. New Orleans arena football game.  I thought until this week he was doing it at a baseball game LOL.  It will be live on Direct TV at 9pm on CH 613 CBS SN.  We don't know if Shad will show up on there but hopefully he will!  It will be the first time our DVR has ever recorded a sport game LOL   We are not "game people"   Shad  is really excited and so is Steve and his friend who are going.  Jon...well he is excited but the game will get over late and Sunday is a big day for us as always!

 

We got up early this morning and Sarah is having a ride with daddy.  She is loving it!

 

 

As you see our faithful dog is always with us:)

 

 

 

 

I hope Sarah will do ok with me gone.  She loves daddy but she gets upset if I'm not around.  When Selah was so critical at first and I didn't even see the kids for a couple days at a time, she had a big meltdown.  She is not a child who cries much but she wants Mommy sometimes and gets sad without me (which I love )

 

So we leave tomorrow and I've not packed or even printed my tickets.  I'm using avoidance LOL  I really HATE flying!  And I really hate our family being separated.  We do things as a crew...so this is hard for me.  But I did hear the weather is great, even shorts weather up in NY! 

 

Here some more pictures of this morning

 

 

Selah came outside and fell right to sleep

 

 

 

our wonderful nurse!

 

 

 

Sarah and the jasmine

 

 

----------------------------------------------

 

I got up this morning and checked FB and saw this....     http://reecesrainbow.org/47598/paige

 

THIS IS MY SALLY!!!!  One of the little girls we are raising money for!  She has a grant OVER $10,000.  I didn't know she was on RR with a grant!  Her family can now apply for that grant even tho they are not working with Reece's Rainbow.  They have already started the process through another program/facilitator.  But this is wonderful! 

 

Reece's Rainbow advocates for special needs orphans.  The raise money for specific children and then the child has a fund specifically for them.  Well they had raised alot of money for children in Russia and just made the decision to relocate the money to other waiting children in other countries since Russia has closed down it's adoptions.  I know it was VERY hard for them to make that decision but it is bittersweet as it will help other children that can be adopted now to be able to be adopted. 

 

The other little girl that is being adopted with her is also on RR She only has $135 in her account but it will also help go towards her adoption.    http://reecesrainbow.org/1731/lauren105 

 

What a great thing to wake up to this morning!  We have already raised $600 this month and it will still go to the fund at Grace Haven Ministries as that is how I started the fund raiser not knowing she was also on RR.  But this is so wonderful!  The family will still need $10,000 at least to complete the adoption of these two girls but I know God will provide for them!

 

Please help me reach the goal I set of $1000 for this month!!!!!

Thank you! Remember you can give through our church or directly to Grace Haven Ministries!

 

---------------------------------------------------------

 

 

A year ago today was our CRAZY day when the families have to run all over and get all the children's paperwork so they can be released the next day.  It's beyond crazy and just how they do it in Ukraine!  Paperchase Day

 

We started out the day at 7 am driving to Makiyivka Ukraine, where Selah was born to get all her paperwork.  Her adoption was more involved as she had several siblings who were also in the system. 

 

It was not easy to leave the boys and know we'd be gone all day from them.  Thankfully we were able to leave our borrowed cell phone with them as our facilitator had a phone but we drove at least 70 miles away...yikes!  Thank God nothing went wrong!!!!  Steve stayed in with Sam and kept all the doors locked.  It was a boring day for them but it would have been worse to take them with us.  It was the day stories are  made of LOL  Actually I've heard CRAZY stories of some folks' running around day...ours was long but not too crazy!

 

 

We started out driving to Makiyivka to do Selah's stuff first.  It is in the Donestk region right next to the city of Donestk  where Sarah was born. 

 

 

this is a coal plant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting for our paperwork with George.  See our van in the background?

 

 

 

 

Another government building we went to for paperwork.  All we did was be led by the hand.  There were so many places to go and things to sign that day...

 

Then we went to the town next door Doneskt where Sarah was born!

 

 

 

Here we are on the edge of a parking lot after we got the girls' passports!  So happy!

 

this is the Police headquarters in Doneskt...

 

George

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did alot of waiting....outside, inside....waiting...for various things...

 

At McDonald's...see the bathroom in the back?  They played a huge role in my life that day LOL  I LOVE UKraine but nothing agrees with me even McD!

 

 

 

very crowded bus

very crowded yard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

another place we went

 

Doneskt stadium where the European soccer games were held last year

 

 

 

 

 

a couple sitting by the road

 

the sign for Doneskt as we were leaving

 

the town sign for Selah's town

 

 

 

cows

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was an amazing long day....many of the details thankfully slip my mind.  So much waiting for everything.  Our biggest wait for trying to get the girls' money out of a bank so it could be given to the insituion.  Ukraine gives a monthly stipend to all orphans.  It is theirs when they turn 18 years of age.  Or if they are adopted, it becomes the adoptive family's.  We chose to give it all to the orphanage.  That made it complicated, the bank had never done a transfer before.  At least it was air conditioned in the bank!!!   The girls had accounts in Doneskt where both had been prior to going to Torez.  They also had a smaller account in Torez that we got our the next day and that was complicated as well.  The director told us to take it and buy things for the other children!  We had a BLAST doing that...

 

We only ran into one little "snag" at the end of the day (which was Friday) an official had to sign a piece of paper authorizing us to be able ot take the girls out on Saturday.  She expected a gift...she got it!!  At that point, we were willing to do anything!!!!  We laugh about it now, but it is something that a pastor probably rarely buys.....but if it took that to get our girls out...so be it!  Some good cognac...LOL   Do NOT judge...believe me, I'd bought just about anything at that point to secure their release!!!!!!!

 

I have more pictures to post later but my computer is freezing up.