Just a few more days....

We only have a few more days in our girls' town. Tomorrow is our last "normal" day. Thrusday & Friday we have alot of paperwork (new birth certificates, passports, and we have to go to both of their birth towns) Saturday morning we will go to the orphange for the last time to pickup our girls and say good bye. I KNOW that will be hard. We've been allowed to play with all the other children and get to know the staff (as well as we could communicate) it will be hard to say goodbye. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it.

BUT the anticaption in my heart to be able to take Sarah & Selah out of there and into our family is so high, I can't even let myself think about it too much:) Cause I can't hardly wait to do that!!!

It's been so hot here. We had packed light winter clothes for the girls but even that would be too hot. I'd been looking for some cute things for them but the girls clothing here isn't quite my style to say the least BUT I found some pretty little girlish things today woohoo!! I can't wait to dress them up:)

This trip has been amazing....we have "lived" here. We shopped in the markets, walked the streets, made Ukraine friends, found a church....we haven't been tourists (although I'm sure we stick out lol) In so many ways it will be hard to leave. My heart has been shattered a few times here, seeing the needs....but I love this country. Didn't really expect to feel like this....Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to getting home and FOOD...and Shad, our family & friends and FOOD....our home and having a car instead of riding in a 1960's van with no air....my bed...A/C and ceiling fans....FOOD... but Ukraine will be in my heart in a special way forever. It's been a trip of a lifetime. Jon is kidding mow how he took me to Europe for 6 weeks...he is so funny!

I haven't posted alot since we've been here. The expirence has been so intense, that all I could handle was remarks on FB:) I have so many pictures to post on here also but we use an internet cafe & it just is hard to do everything. Ilove to post the girls picutres on here, FINALLY to have them in my arms, it is such a wonderful feeling!

Everyday, even on the weekend & holidays we see them and we both take turns with both girls. When I hold Sarah on the swing, I tell her how I saw her little face & KNEW she was meant to be my girl! I tell her all about her room, toys, new clothes and ALL the people who are waiting to love on her! With Selah I tell her how God surprised us with her and we talk alot about FOOD:) She likes to eat, she is chubby, short and round, not what you'd expect LOL but so cute:) This month has helped us to get to know them & really understand what their lives have been like for the last few years. Honestly, even tho it's been a LONG trip, I really think it is best for the children to do it like this. (In china, I was taken to the orphange, handed Shad and we left and went to the hotel-we had to get used to each other in a much more invasive way. Here it's been gradual and every week, you could see their trust and love for us grow. The last few days it has been so hard for us to leave them. I am so glad that they just have 3 more full days there and then they'll wake up on Saturday morning and we'll dress them in their new clothes and shoes and we'll be on our way:)

Saturday we will take the afternoon train to Kiev & get there about 11pm. I am so thankful NOT to have to take the overnight train. I can tell you that was pure misery....Next Monday we'll have our embassy appointment and their medicals appt. then we will get their visas on Tues and leave on Wednesday morning! We will probably leave our apartmentat about 3 am, our flight leaves Kiev for Frankfurt Germany at 5:35am! then we fly to Dulles (Washington DC) where the girls will become US citizens!!! Then we'll fly to Tampa, getting there at 8:05pm! We will have traveled for about 24 straight hours...FUN with THREE handicapped kids, 2 who have not been out of their orphange for years...I apologize in advance to all who will share our flights....LOl Anyhow I know we're going to have some folks at the airport to greet us...CAN"T wait to see everyone espicially SHAD!!!! I'll probably start crying :)

I just think of that scene from "The Inn of the 6th Happiness" when the missionary comes hobbling into town with two kids in her arms after going thru many trials....it's very insipring...I can just see it in my mind's eye now:) What a feeling that will be!!!!!!!

Sarah has some major eating issues, even when I'm feeding her. So depending on how she is, we may or may not take her straight to All Children's. I'm afraid after traveling for 24 hours I may end up in jail if we have to go straight there! I get a bit over protective with my kids and medical people. I've never had good expirences there at ACH & don't have the relationships like I do at Lakeland Regional, but I know Lakeland would just send her to ACH anyhow...they dont' run diagnosistic tests on kids there. If her food & drink intake is ok, we may wait and go see our ped on Thursday morning. We'll see...there are pros & cons to both!

Selah is very healthy but has some issues with her legs, she was diagnosised with CP and is stiff. Otherwise besides the usual tests and shots, she should be fine.

So soon we will be home and leaving as a family of 7! Who would have ever thought I'd have 5 kids? Not me that's for sure!!!!!! I can't wait to show them LIFE:)

The Great Big Giveaway for HARPER!

Two wonderful ladies, Susan and Jennifer, who are both adoptive parents I've had the pleasure of meeting through Reece's Rainbow, have put together an online giveaway to help my friend Vera Cooper and her family raise money to BRING HOME HARPER!

Remember, Harper's situation is URGENT. She has a very serious condition and needs to be evaluated by doctors in the USA! She NEEDS to receive treatment!!!! The Coopers have 8 weeks to raise $14,000 and they need it NOW!

You can find all the giveaway details on Susan's blog The Ironic Catholic. You can also see all the great prizes up for grabs by clicking on that link! Here's a sneak peek of what's up for grabs:

Autographed books, gift cards, jewelry, accessories and MORE!












Here are the RULES:

1. Donate to the Cooper's Reece's Rainbow FSP grant. All donations are tax deductible. You can send a check to Reece's Rainbow if you prefer that to paypal.
2. Share on facebook/twitter if you wish
3. Share on your blog if you wish
4. Tell Susan how much you donated and if you shared. Jennifer and Susan promise to keep this information in complete confidence. You can tell Susan in the comments box, please, with email address for contact. (She has comment moderation on so she won't post comments on donated money, she'll just receive it, okay?) OR you can email her at ironiccatholic at yahoo dot com ; please put "giveaway" in the subject heading!




Here is the address if you'd like to send a check for your entry (and please enclose a note specifying your donation is for the Cooper Family's FSP to adopt Harper):
Reece's Rainbow
c/o The Cooper Family - "HARPER"
PO Box 4024
Gaithersburg, MD 20885

Entries key:
One entry for a blog post mention on the giveaway, linking to this post.
One entry for a Facebook or Twitter share on the giveaway, linking to this post.
Donate $1-10 = 1 entry
$11-20 = 2 entries
$21-30 = 3 entries
$31-40 = 4 entries
$41-50 = 5 entries
$51-75 = 8 entries
$76-99 = 12 entries
$100-150 = 18 entries
$151-199 = 25 entries
$200+ = 30 entries and a big virtual hug


PLEASE please donate to this family's fund and help bring Harper home!!! And you could receive some great prizes too through this great giveaway!!!! Every donation is TAX DEDUCTIBLE (what a bonus!) and even if you only share the link to The Ironic Catholic, you're still making a big contribution to this cause!!

So if you followed our journey and been touched as God provided for us...use this as a chance to help another family. Do it in honor of Sarah and Selah! Two little girls who are just days away from being taken out of the orphange forever to come home with us!!! This little girl & family NEED your help!!! Thank you for getting invovled...you are saving a REAL little girl!!!!! Just remember that!!!! She is real, she exists not too many miles from where we are now...waiting for her family...help her dream come true!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!

Angela

Today my heart is heavy...for a little girl that is in my girls orphange. We sponser her thru Life 2 Orphans. she has an Individual Caregiver who works with her daily BUT she needs a family. She is 11 years old and has many medical needs. Even more than we could handle with our other children's needs. Her caregiver has her up and invovled with the different activities daily.

Today she had her out on the veranda while we were out with our girls & I asked if I could swing her. I did for the rest of our visit. She nestled into me, and I cried. She has so many needs, it's even overwhelming to me but isn't there someone who can be her parents? She is full of joy. I've never seen her not smiling. She has a smile on her face & is so appreciative of everything. She can not walk, not sure if she'd ever be able to and she is gaining weight. She can hold herself up but does have alot of medical needs. Could you consider adopting her? If a family would step up, our family would help raise the money.... If you can't adopt her, could you give to her fund on Reece's Rainbow? she is Angela.... I'm glad I had the chance to swing her today and hold her although my eyes hurt from tears. I can only imagine what the caregivers think of me sobbing today... she needs a family, she's blind, she needs love... The bible clearly tells us to take care of the "least of them" We are not to close our eyes to the needs but we are to step up and do what we can....Please pray and do what you can for this precious soul!

Thankfulness...

I read on FB how one family has struggled with finding support from friends for their adoption and some other families added their stories.....it made me think about our situation...


We have had nothing but 100% support from our Family, friends, church & Jon's co-workers. Everyone in our lives have said YES! Go get your girls! You all have prayed for us, GIVEN to us, hugged on us, been positive in every way ....what can I say? We are beyond blessed with the people in our lives!

Thank you for not doubting even when the task seemed so big! Thank you for not being afraid of their diagnosis! Thank you for knowing how beautful they are! Thank you for trusting that we had heard God's voice! THANK YOU! Thank you for not minding the incovience of us being gone for so long! Thank you to all the folks who are taking care of our various animals and our friend who is keeping a kid for 6 weeks! Thank you to our christian school who has been supportive of our crazy schedule! Thank you Grace Church for stepping up. Thank you Josh Conely for filling in, thank you to Jon's co-workers and volunteers at the prison for stepping up! Thank you that NO ONE ever has said a cross word to us about all that had to be taken care of while we are gone! Thank you to everyone who can't wait to see them safely home with us!!!!!

Thank you for giving....from the first person (my cousin) to the last person...you all gave to their ransom, thank you!!! Some folks we have never met and may never meet this side of heaven, have given to help us get our girls home. It's unreal to think of what God's people have done in the last 5 months for these girls and for us. We didn't have to beg, to fundraise, nothing.....we did our paperwork and you all did the rest....THANK YOU! We have been blessed over and over again and it is holy to us. You did not give for some foolish reason you gave because you beleive that two little lives needed to be saved!

My heart is just overwhelemed today thinking of all that has been done for our girls! We had a friend who painted and redid their closets and room, it's so beautiful and just waiting on them. A family gave us a brand new van... it's unreal!

Thank you for letting your hearts be touched, for caring, for loving & for having faith in us! We love you guys. This journey has been an example to Steve & Shad. We talked with them about how God provided EVERYTHING We needed and how He will always do that for them. The day we got the new van, I told the boys to always remember that day, even when they are old men. Remember how God provided for us, don't forget His goodness and never take it for granted! We shared with Shad how his adoption was just this awesome and how god provided everything we needed to go get him and I beleive it was a witness to his little heart of how God cared for him & how He cares for the girls.

You all that really know us, know we are not materistic and teach our kids not to be that way either...but god will provide our needs. He provided what was needed for this adoption, not so we could go on some exotic vacation or buy a bunch of jewelery...that's not how we roll. We have our jewles and that's our kids!!!

But God has shown HImself once again to be our provider! He used His people to do it!

Thank you all again, we love you!!!!!!!!!

My blog is open....

so my blog is open again...as you can see, I've not been blogging much! I think for me, this expirence has been so intense, I've done better making like short remarks on FB:) It's not that is has been bad, just alot ot take in.

We are allowed to see the girls daily and are so thankful for the expirence we have had at our institution. We have been given nothing but kindness & good care! We feel blessed.

Sarah is totally bonded with us. It is like she has been our child forever and a day! Her little face, so like Sam's started me on a journey I could NOT say no to! It is easy for us to read her moods and respond to them. She is unbeleiveably like Sam, I don't know how else to say it. He certainly prepared us for her. She is small, she is not awfully thin but she needs to gain some weight. There is something wrong with her as far as she starts gagging if she eats much. I feed her every day and see her do it & it is scary. I beleive she is being taken care of here but there is a lack of medical services in this town, it is such a poor region. She has started to pull herself up on the couch now:) We are so proud of her. She does get a little tired of being held after about an hour or so but for a child who is blind and in an orphange, she tolerates alot more than we thought she would. We know how Sam is and he has been ours since day one and he gets to stimulated if he is held for too long.

Selah is a BIG girl, no weight problems with her at all! She can walk, has just learned in the past year. Her caregiver from Life 2 Orphans has worked with her and she does walk but not far distances. She is very short but quite round:) She finds it more difficult to relate to us. She wants to so bad but she is having to learn. She has had a more difficult time in life as she was in several placements over her short life time. We love to see how she never wants us to leave which is reassuring. She is so cute and tries to talk to us. she really doens't have much language but she does vocalize.

We see them each morning and then we explore the town. We've gone to the Russian Orthdox Church & gotten blessed for giving a small offering ( got soaked) we gone to the markets, to the local cematary, to a Pentcostal church... we want to expirence this section of the world! I've taken hundreds of pictures so we'll never forget this trip for sure:)

I'm going to try and go back and fil in some stuff and do better writing on here...
We have to go to an interent cafe which makes it a bit harder to really go with my thoughts PLUS the spell check doesn't work on here now....lol that is terrible!!!

Update

I keep having issues with getting on here...

So after the train trip from hell...we took a 1.5 bone jarring ride on a dirt road to the town. We first had to meet with officals, then one went with us to meet our girls......Of course when we got to the instituion we had to do some more offical things...then the walk to them....

I remember thinking, this is the 2nd time in my life to meet a child like this... We walked into an older but clean building, walked up a flight of stairs, opened a door and there they were!!!!! Oh my gosh...I just started bawling. now I have another "first" picture in my mind never to forget, the moment you see your child for the first time...Selah was standing and Sarah was sitting in a little wheelchair....I put one hand on both of them, I didn't know who to grab first:) Tears were flowing...unbelieveable to have come so far, thru so cuch and here they are!!!!!! Just like meeting all my boy, it was a holy moment. for each child of mine, I have that sweet memoray of when I saw their faces for the first time...now I have this for the girls.

Yes Sarah looks like Sam's double, unreal.... Selah is such a funny little girl, so pretty... Sarah soon got tired of being close to her (Sam is like that too) and she slithered out of the wheelchair and rolled on the floor some but then let me hold her. Selah was just overwhelmed with everything but did ok. She loved Jon and started holind his hand. He also held Sarah and sang to her and she enjoyed that very much.

Selah is a chunky very healthy little girl. She is so short, at 7.5 yrs old, Sam is so much bigger than her ( FINALLY children that he is bigger than lol) She has CP, but can walk. She definelty has some different type behaviors and a very short attention span. We've never met a child exactly like her to be honest. But we love her already. It will be interesting to get a diagnosis and see how we can help her the best.

Sarah is so like Sam...she looks like him and has behaviors like him. Of course Sam has had so many advantages that she has not had, so his behaviors are more easy to deal with. She is tiny, but not sick at all. Shad was so sick when I got him, I'm jsut thankful that neither girl is like that! But she will need some medical care as soon as we get home. We found out she has a heart mummer so we will get that seen about soon.

Now we have been here in their town for almost two weeks. We see them as often as we can, not on weekends...or today since ll the paperwork is behing us for now, we have a date set for court and we are looking forward to getting all that done! We expect to be here at least 3 full weeks probaly 4 weeks more...it's just how it rolls here... but it is worth it for them!!!!!!

Hoepfully we will soon get interent in our nice apartment, I'll probably update on here more. Everything has goen well except for my tummy....can't find much of anything to eat, everything just tastes "off' to me... but I will live:) At least I'll lose weight!

Blog is working!!!!!!!!! UPDATE TIME!

So where do I start now that my blog is back again?? Today we have been here for over a week and have met our girls...all is well:) so I'm going to start from last weeek!


We flew out on Friday March 30th....Tampa to Charlotte. Charlotte to Munich, Munich to Kiev Ukraine....all together about a 24 hour trip. with layovers and such. The kids did great. Sam loved flying, he didn't fuss until we'd landed in Kiev. thank God, I didnt' know how that was going to go!! I hate to fly but all was good except for some AWFUL turblance over Irealnd. It woke me up & I reminded God we were off doing His work and He needed to watch over us! And He did:) We flew over Ireland, England, Paris France and into Germany. It was quite amazing to me to watch the map on the screen and the various names of towns as we flew over, so much histroy.

We were taken to the Hospitality House, a ministry that allows a family to stay for free. It was in the old part of the city and very interesting. History was all around us! We were extremely comfortable. Last Sunday we took a taxi to the International Church ( aministy of the Assembly of God) and enjoyed the service.

Monday moring was our DAP appointment, which gave us permission to meet the girls. It went well and we learned a little about Selah. It was almost anti climatic, how easy it was thankfully.

Tuesday we went sightseeing as we waitied on our paperwork. We went to a World War 2 Muesum that celebrated Russia's victoy over Germany. It was moving and made me realize how much the whole world suffered during that terrible time. There were two rooms devoted to the concernations camps. We did not take pictures, it was too sacred & we were all moved totears. There was an actual table used as a gulletin, so awful...Kiev was occupied for several years & many were killed. Near Kiev there was a concentration camp just for children....so very sad.


That night we took an overnight train to Torez, we'd like to call it the Train trip from Hell!!!!! LOL it was rough. we thought Sam would love it, NOT SO!!!! It was a Long HOT night.... I finally went to sleep around 3am local time, but woke up soon as the sun came up. All I could think was that we were just hours from meeting our girls. It was an amazing feeling!!!!!!