A year ago today we went to our appointment at the State Department of Adoptions in Kiev. I don't think that I will ever forget the date. I had probably said it hundreds of times over the previous couple months. We got ready early in the day and went over to find out that our appointment was going to be a little later in the day. I think we walked all over Kiev with Kostya and his family.
We were definitely nervous. The door where we entered is on the side of the building. You walk in and there are stairs immediately to your left. We waited on the stairs for a few minutes and we were called in. We sat in an office on the other side of a coffee sized table from a young lady with light, bright blue eyes. Thankfully Kostya went in with us to translate. It was nice to have a friend there.
I remember talking briefly with the girl before she started telling us about some of the kids available for adoption and showing us their pictures. I specifically remember an adorable little blond boy who was 3, 3 year old boy and girl twins, a set of 3 sisters with beautiful dark hair and eyes, and a set of three brothers. We were probably shown at least 10 different possibilities. None seemed just right. I could not figure out which was the child or children God had sent us to Ukraine to bring home with us. Kevin felt the same way. He just knew it was going to be very clear when we saw them. So far there was no light shining down from above or any playing of the hallelujah chorus. The girl briefly left the room and came back with some more options. I honestly can't remember if there were any others besides our kids in her hands. The second she showed us their pictures and told us about each one I knew it was them. I was actually afraid to look at Kevin because I wasn't sure he would feel the same way I did about them. He had been leaning farther toward 2 than 3 all along. Thankfully he felt the same way that I did. The picture they showed us of Sophie reminded him of me when I was little. Unlike most of the other referral pictures, these kids were playing or smiling.
We walked out of the SDA with a huge sense of relief. The only thing that had scared me about the trip was the not knowing. It was so nice to finally have that part behind us. We met up with Kostya's wife and son on the street lined with vendors outside the SDA. I remember getting cold drinks and talking to Olya all about the kids. Our kids. :)
7 comments:
I do think its amazing how much they look like y'all. It was meant to be! All the best!
Wow! I can't believe that it's been a year already. I always tink of October as the month that our adoption process began, but I must have been leaning that way in June since I was following your blog then!
It is encouraging to know that "the big day" does eventually come, and that God leads us to our children!
geez, once again your blog has me crying at work:) yay for family day!! we love you all.
What a great post!!! Can't believe it has been a year. Your family is truly blessed. Love seeing pictures of your kids & how they've grown!!!
Krista, I have a question for you. How long did it take till your kids were speaking fairly good English. Our 2 have been home almost 12 weeks & they can understand when we tell them to do something most of the time. But, they aren't speaking it that well. I guess I'm trying to figure out when their speech becomes more Americanized. Thanks in advance!!!!Elaine
Lainie, that is a tough question. The kids have been home 11 months now and they are definitely fluent. I am not sure at what point I would actually have called them fluent. I also know they held each other back a bit, language wise. Since you have two home grown English speakers I think yours will catch on a bit more quickly.
They still have accents, ask about words meanings, and have plenty of incorrect grammar. I would say that by 6 months or so they could carry on a conversation with someone who didn't know them. Does that help?
Thanks Krista, yes that helps, it will be nice when they are fluent in the language. I am hoping their language skills improve before school starts the end of August. One will be going into kindergarten & one into prek 4. Can't wait to see your Disney pictures. We are headed over there for 4th of July weekend. Actually we're going to Universal, don't if these guys are ready for theme parks yet...we'll find out!!!!
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