a little bit of news...

last evening in the botanical gardens

Statue of Shevchenko

hmmm interesting!

pointing at a sunflower hanging on the wall

notice any similarities between mother and daughter? (hey - what's going on down there?)

Hello. We just returned from the orphanage, grocery store, and shawarma stand. We have full bellies and are relaxing a bit before Slava and Vadim pick us up to do some running around (to the social worker and then attorney – we are not exactly sure what is going to happen, but we are supposed to come just in case we are needed. It is not exactly a transparent process, and we are learning to just relax and do what is asked of us).
Last evening after leaving the chocolate café, we went for a long walk in the botanical gardens (which should look amazing in a couple of weeks), then along Shevshenko blvd to Shevshenko park and back home. It was really nice to be out strolling with many others just kind of enjoying the evening. It reminded me a lot of home. We watched a little tv and then read together before heading to bed.
This morning we had nice chats with Tanis, Jonathan, and Shona’s parents. It is great to feel so connected to home, and wonderful that it is so easy to communicate. As per usual, we left around 8:30 and walked to the train station. We rode in a car towards the back of the train and were able to sit, which was nice, although in some ways it is more comfortable to stand (not much padding on my bum – or the seat).
We arrived at the orphanage a little after the Italian couples and a bit before the French and American couples. After a brief wait, a caregiver brought Ivanna up to us. She is seeming to really enjoy hugging her mom (as well as hugging me too, but really, Shona is the big hugger in our family). We alternated between time in the room (we’ve probably given you a decent idea of the level of energy and sound pressure in there) and walks down the hall to see the many stuffed animals on a couch there as well as the fish tank. Ivanna still has quite a cold and does not seem able to breathe through her nose much. Despite this, she was still really interested in everything today (when she is watching someone or something, it is really hard to get her attention – kind of reminds me of some of her cousins).
Shona had a chat with one of the mothers and heard a bit about their adoption journey here. After two unsuccessful referrals (and around 7 weeks), things appear to be nearly finalized for them. Once again we are reminded of how blessed we are. We’ll write more after our errands this afternoon.
So we are back from the running around. We (Darren and I) sat in the car while Slava picked up documents from the social worker, dropped off documents and chatted with the lawyer (he didn’t need to talk to us after all) and then stopped by the bank to pay court fees. Slava did have a copy of some paperwork we needed to fill out for DCRE (Department of community Resource and Employment) back home so we were able to fill it out, sign it and leave it with her to fax back to Rodica (our agency representative in Ontario) who will forward it to Michelle (our social worker at DCRE). Things are slowly progressing. Slava told us she and Vadim will come out to the orphanage with us on Tuesday to pick up one more document then she thinks we will (hopefully) have our court date on Thursday (May 10th). She said we would likely know for sure on Tuesday. That would be fantastic. We are not clear on whether the 10 day waiting period after the court date is 10 days or 10 working days – but either way, we should be home on May 30th (and maybe even before if flights can be changed)! We are feeling… quite happy, relieved, hopeful, joyful, thankful and excited...but also are remaining a bit guarded. With our experiences in the last several years, we are still both somewhat hesitant to get our hopes too set on anything. We are trying to trust that everything will work out and that we will very shortly (in the grand scheme of things) officially be Ivanna’s parents. What a privilege that will be. We are so blessed to call her daughter.