We've had a wonderful and very different past 24 hours. We picked Ivanna up yesterday around 1pm. Everything went well. We made it back to the apartment, gave her some food and then she napped for a couple of hours. In the evening, we had a Jonathan-prepared lavash lasagne (frozen since he was here - thanks bro) and then met the Andrews for dessert at Mario's. Unfortunately, the wi-fi was not working (which is why there was no post yesterday and why today's will be short). Nonetheless, we had a nice time out. Ivanna then slept from 9-something until around 7 this morning with only a brief bout of semi-consciousness when she rolled off the mattress (it's on the floor - no worries). Shona managed to call another Canadian couple (who had contacted her a few days ago) and we met them and the Andrews for coffee this morning on Kreschatyk. It was really enjoyable. They are all kind of in the same boat, waiting for second appointments.
After picking up some socks in Independence Square (for soccer), we walked back to the apartment. After a bit of lunch, Shona tried to put Ivanna down for a nap. No such luck. Unfortunately for her, I had to leave at 1:30 to go do a bit of paperwork. When I returned at 5:15, she was a little stir-crazy, and Ivanna was a bit manic. Apparently, after an hour of trying, Shona figured it was not worth it and then spent the rest of the afternoon dealing with a very energetic 23-month old. I tried to spell her off a bit before supper by entertaining Ivanna while Shona typed. Around 6, we headed over to Mario's again to meet the Andrews clan. Again, no luck with wi-fi, but a good supper. Ivanna totally crashed a few minutes after we arrived and spent the whole time sleeping on the bench. Just before leaving she woke up. Shona said she'd take her home to give her some food while I came here (the gamers' dungeon) to post and email. So, there you have the very short and broad-stroked version of our last day and a bit. We are saving our posts and will try to get them onto the blog when we have access again. The bottom line is that we are feeling ver blessed, and very grateful.
10 comments:
Well, you've stepped into parenthood the way all of us start - head first in the deep end. :)
May God's hand rest on all of you today.
What an exciting day for all of you! We're continuing to pray that God will give peace and wisdom and guide you through the next few days until you're back home. No doubt it will be an encouragement to the other two couples to see that adoption does truly happen! We love you.
We had joy; we had fun; we had seasons in the sun.
Welcome to the next season. Very cool. I am glad to hear that you actually had aat least a little bit of difficulty in your first 24 hours of parenting. sounds like things are going well though. Excellent!
It is great that you are finally able to connect with more of the outher couples who are there and going through much of the same that you have already. I pray that things settle with healthy children soon however. That is one aspect you were blessed to not have to experience.
Things here are good, but will improve with your return.
BTW: Had a soccer game last night and had precious moments of questioning whether I would ever sire children again. Yep, ouch!
ciao.
jonathan
It was great to hear some of your news from the past day, and we look forward to reading your other posts soon. Hope you are reading this after a night of good sleep all around.
Glad to hear you're still feeling blessed. I remember that on my second night with a squalling Eilidh, at 4am I was overcome with horror (not too strong a word) and the question "...WHAT HAVE WE DONE?!" And that same sentiment returned on a lot of 3 hour crying jags with Will when he was in his "I won't sleep at night" months (i.e. from 0 to 11 months).
The good news is that I figured out that the answer to that question is "We done good." And so have you guys. :) My personal revelation? "Your kids are little people who live with you."
There seem to be two dominating directions to go with conversation regarding new parents. The first is to get patronizing and "haha, it's insane, and you haven't seen anything yet, and wait for *my kid's age*, and it costs so much, but cheer up, it's over in 18 years, haha." The second direction is to get wildly maudlin about the whole affair and pretend that everything is utterly perfect once you have your kids and that everything they do is mystical and wonderful, even if it is pouring a bottle of shampoo into a diefenbacchia.
The reality for me has definitely been a helping of both. In my best moments I am transcendentally lifted to euphoria, holding my precious children and losing all sense of time, place, self in pure love for other beings. In my worst, I fall prey to all my human failing--I can feel like I rage and thunder at these little creatures (acting out though they may be!) and as my blood cools, despair that I cannot be a tenth the father they deserve. The true blessing of children to me is the process of discovery. Not only do you discover an ever changing person who you help to shape, but you discover yourself mirrored in that person. So congratulations on starting your journey of discovery.
You guys are getting home so soon there's barely anything left to say but "enjoy your flight." Jonathan and I went and saw 300. I had a good laugh. :)
Take care of each other... and most of all Ivanna! :)
I am so happy for you guys - you are now going to have your precious girl with you for always! Your first day with her as everyone has already commented sounds like a typical day with children - wonderful with a bit hectic in there too! I wish we lived closer so I could watch from a closer perspective the joy in your eyes as you are home and enjoying your days with her! Anyway enjoy your flight! It will likely be similar to your first day - good with a bit of hectic( I didn't say wonderful because no matter what age you are - long flights are rarely wonderful) I will keep praying for you guys. I pray your flight goes smoothly and Ivanna sleeps a lot so she is ready to meet everyone that is so excited to meet her at home!!
Love you guys and thinking of you a lot!
Debbie
What a relief to know that Ivanna is a normal, almost 2 yr old, with a will of her own. Who's the boss of you now Shona??? Seriously, I hope that her adrenalin high soon settles down, and you can get her to have normal naps and bedtimes, because the journey home will be tiring enough without having to deal with a strung out infant.
We are anxiously awaiting news that the final paperwork has been processed, and that you will be home as planned.
Love to all three of you. We can hardly wait for our 3 more sleeps to be over.
Hey guys, Its Jen Krueckl here. Sorry it has taken me so long to leave a response, it took forever to get caught up on your Blog. Especially, when you keep adding to it. Life keeps you busy.
Anyway, I just wanted to say congratulations to all three of you, for Ivanna to be chosen to join such an amazing family and extended family, is an extraordinary gift from God. He obviously has incredible things in store for this little girl.
Ivanna must have realized the significance of her day. Who could nap on such a special day?! Anyway, my prayers will be with you as you begin the full time job of parenting. Heaven knows we all need prayer in that department.
The *best* sentence I have read in our newspaper in ages (since "Knowlege is Power") this morning!
And I quote:
"Columbariums are only for those who have been cremated, but that is now fifty percent of the population and that figure is growing."
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