Meet-cha Day!

Dearest Support Team,

Where do I begin? I wish I had the energy to go into detail as to how our day went, but I am running on low and promise to add more juice tomorrow. I could NOT go to bed without sending a quick update to my prayer warriors and support team now, could I? We felt your love all the way from there. Thank you.

Our trip went very smoothly. (Sorry Bryants...no exciting pothole stories to share. You got us beat there!). The train ride was very comfortable and only took 3 hours. We took a taxi into town and met with the lawyer, Natasha, who has her finger on the pulse of this city and any adoption that takes place here. NOTHING can happen without her. In fact, Yuri gets to sit back and relax while she does the job he normally does. She actually interviewed us before we could go to another location to pick up yet another form to visit the orphanage. We had to wait until 2 to go there because the orphange was having state officials come in to inaugurate a brand new play ground at their facility.

I hope my pictures I will attach on Snapfish soon will do justice to what we are seeing here. The city is 300 years old and VERY run down. Jacob, do you remember looking at all the beautiful churches and saying, "Well, it doesn't look like a poor country!" You should see it. It's quite sad. However, we were both pleasantly surprised when we pulled up to the orphanage. It's actually quite nice. Again, tons of pictures coming your way soon so you can all see.

We went into the orphanage along with a troop of approximately 7 or 8 women and Yuri....all watching every move Lamar and I made. We sat there with the pediatrician, laywer, guidance counselor, administrator and others (whom I can only presume were the cooks, custodians, and grounds keepers because I ran out of titles to pass around). The door was opened by a nurse and all I can remember is seeing two little boys looking a little confused but happy holding hands as they walk in. Lamar and I immediately jumped from our seats and fell to the ground to their level. Lamar was warned they might not take to males right away. Phewey on that! They obviously had never met a Lamar before. He pulled out two matchbox cars we bought in Kiev and they were all down on the ground racing cars over my legs and their arms and Lamar's feet. And then Yarik giggled and I lost it. I promised Lamar beforehand that I wouldn't scare them by sobbing hysterically like every fiber in my being wanted to. I stayed under control, swallowed the lump in my throat and just laughed and laughed with the precious angels. I totally forgot we had a group of women around us monitoring every single motion, action and reaction. The moments flew by way too quickly and we had to move to a different move. I stood up and each boy reached for my hands. My heart melted. I held each of their hands as we walked down the hall to the next room. Let me tell you, their hands just fit perfectly in mine. It felt right. It felt safe. If felt amazing!

Well, Lamar and I proceed to sit on the floor and play with the boys while each person takes a turn spitting tons of information at as about the boys. From what I remember we were told that Nikolai, the eldest, is very protective of his youngest brothers and is very helpful with the group. He always stays behind and helps the slower ones with their shoes (Awww!). He is popular in his group because everyone enjoys his spirit. He is kind-hearted and fun. He enjoys being around people and they can tell he wants to learn so much more but is limited there. He likes to snuggles, doesn't throw tantrums, and eats everything! He gets a rash when he drinks tomato juice (sound familiar, Mom!), or too sweet of a dessert (I'll break him of that!) He has a problem with his "r's" but nothing that isn't age appropriate. (By the way....I sure couldn't detect any deficiency with his language. His Russian gibberish sounded right on to me!) Yarik's personality is very different. He, too, eat everything and doesn't throw fits (yeah~!). He LOVES to explore and is quick to pick things up. He is very bright and has the most contagious laugh. He also walks around with his chest pumped out like he can conquer the world. NO problem whatsoever with confidence. He is NOT shy. He was all over us very quickly. It was too much.

Alright, here I said I was going to keep it short and I've already rambled on. Well, I might as well keep going.

They had to go nap so they blew us kisses as the nurse came back and took them away. We talked with the pediatrician and others. Then we went to the grocery store and came back at 4:30 and visited some more with them....and without such a big audience...and that's when we REALLY got to know their little personalities. (I also got to bring out my camera!) Yarik is fearless and he is everywhere. He is a mess...and we love it! We just chase him around doing damage control. Nikolai LOVES guns. Everything he picks up turns out to be a gun. At one point and time he was shooting Lamar with a gun while fake talking into the cell phone at the same time. He's a multi-tasker I presume. He would pick up every gun he could find, or anything that even closely resembled a gun, and put it in a bag he would carry around and not put down. I gave him pictures of Joshua and Jacob and they went in that bag. You couldn't pry that bag out of his hand. I think it is part of the "hoarding" that goes on with growing up in an orphanage. It's precious but also sad.

Again, the time went by way too quickly. Yuri left and went to talk to Natasha after we gave him a very big nod that "YES! WE WANT THESE BOYS!" A lot of negotiation had to take place. Long story short- tomorrow we are off to visit all the other orphanages the other 4 siblings belong to so we can obtain separation letter. We have until Friday to get them together. Apparently we will be heading North to one region and South to another...go figure! Natasha has to accompany us so we have to work around her schedule. On Friday we will be reviewed by a board. There's a ton more steps after that but I just want to take it step by step. There is a good chance we WILL be coming home with the boys together. We will see. Please pray that works out and our 10 days can be waivered by the court.

Well, my head is spinning and I'm losing my connection. I will post the pictures in the morning. I promised Joshua and Jacob they would see them first! You can understand that!!!

Love you all and thanks for the awesome comments.

God bless and good night.

Kris