Pigeons, Puppies, and Paperwork

Who in the world would every think that pigeons, puppies, and paperwork go together.  But you know what, that was our day today!

We had a late start to our day today, with a pick up time of 4pm.  As we waited outside for our ride, LA was eating a snack of some trail mix that we brought along with us.  When she was done, she dumped out the few remaining crumbs and low and behold, pigeons dove down from all directions.  One rather plump one enjoyed most of the rations.  The reason I share this little story is that this episode provided insight into what a great Mama LA is going to be.  We are in a new place, with new things to see and experience and LA was nurturing and giving to the pigeons.  Talking to them and the more she spoke to them the more came along.  Pretty soon we had 5 or 6 at our feet just enjoying their American cuisine.

Shortly after our little rendezvous with Bert and Ernie's friends (can you tell I grew up watching Sesame Street?), we headed off to pick up our paperwork that allows us to continue onto the next step with the local region.  While we were waiting outside the office for our turn, LA was greeted my another friend...a momma dog that you could obviously tell just had puppies recently.  We were greeted by her yesterday morning at the same office and she probably remembered LA! 

As we have been driven around town and as we have explored a little, we have noticed lots of dogs just roaming the streets trying to survive.  We have only seen 2 domesticated and leashed ones, but the rest are just roaming free.  They look a lot like wolves and have huge paws and are rather friendly to the people in the area.  This one particular momma dog seems to be living the high life.  The office that we have visited the last 2 days sits atop a peak, situated high above the city; next to a beautiful cathedral that is currently under renovation.  She has found refuge for herself and her puppies in the construction debris and rubble.  She keeps going to the ledge to check on her pups.  I can only make an educated guess, but I would say she is living large...a penthouse suite in debris, in a very populated and foot traffic area with lots of restaurants and consequential garbage to live on.  A view of the city and the river that runs through it.  Daisy would be out of her element, but she seemed pretty happy.

Now onto the paperwork part of the title that wraps this story up.  We received the necessary authorizations this afternoon to continue the process at the local level.  When we arrived at the scheduled pick up time, we waited in the common grounds outside for our turn.  We were amoung other families that were in our same shoes.  Some of them even spoke English and it was nice to here a familiar tune!  The coordinator for one of them even had a UNC Tarheels hat on, obviously a token of appreciation from another family he has helped in the past.  And I would guess one from NC.

So when it was our turn, we were summoned into a little room and asked to be seated.  We signed our names in a register of some sort and not 2 minutes from entering the office, we had our paperwork to continue!

While our driver attended to some other business in the area, we got walk up and down a street vendor area of guys selling souvenirs.  Kind of reminded me of the State Fairgrounds Fleamarket on weekends.  We purchased a few small trinkets to remember our time here and waited for our driver to return.  We waited on the cobble street and just people watched for a few minutes.  People watching in a new place is such a treat.

The next chapter of our journey starts tomorrow morning.  Bright and early we will head south to the region where Nastya's orphanage is located.  A trip through the countryside en route to the next steps to bringing our daughter home.

There you have it.  Pigeons. Puppies. And Paperwork.  Not often things you see together.  But I must say, they were pleasant treats to see today.  Moments that allowed me to stop and smell the roses and try and corral the emotions that this adventure brings.

Until next time...the proud husband of the pigeon and puppy whisperer.

One Foot in Front of the Other

Today has provided me with probably the widest range of emotions that one could possibly have. Extreme highs and unfortuneately some lows. First the good stuff. Today was our much anticipated SDA appointment. The magic day on the calendar that all families wait word on that the process officially starts in country. We met with our coordinator early this morning to get briefed on the happenings of the appointment and headed out to the meeting. A short five minute drive later we arrived at our destination and there it was...the office that gets it all started. I felt kind of numb as we entered and waited to be called into the office. No real highs or no real lows. I really didn't know what to expect but knew deep down inside that this was the start of something special. 20 minutes later we were done. We were promptly brought back to our apt and are currently waiting for our next set of instructions. This is were the emotions come into play. On one hand, the process is very simple to explain. But on the other it is quite complex. The easiest way to describe it is that you cannot take one step forward until your other foot allows you. This is a rather odd feeling. You must release 100% control and trust that God will lead you and your team in the right direction. After we returned from our meeting, I experienced a range of emotions and feelings that I have never felt. Some rather strange. Some downright scary. Some of jubilation. Some uneasiness. A great deal of anxiety. A sense of relief. An outpouring of such proportion in such a short period of time that it was quite an exhausting time. In a matter of minutes, my head was leading me from one end of the spectrum to the other, at a mind numbing pace. Over the past several months we have talked with other families about their journey and we "knew" what to expect. This outpouring of emotion was explained to us and we prepared ourselves the best we could for the experience. But you can truly never understand until you have experienced it yourself. It is an emotional journey that will change your life. Fortuneately, I have the love of my life with me to share this with. LA has comforted me. Encouraged me. Let me know that I will be okay and that we will be okay. I thought that after all we had been through to this point in our time together that you couldn't get any closer or share anything stronger than what we had experienced. I was completely wrong. Tomorrow will surely bring a new set of emotions. Hopefully I will learn from today and will draw on today's experience to help me travel this path. Today was the official start and we must now put one foot in front of the other...take one step at a time...put our faith in God...put our faith in the team that we are being guided...draw on the love and support that we know is being shared with us from home... One foot in front of the other. One step at a time. Seems like such a simple process. I pray tonight that God gives me the strength to take these steps; help me through the emotional journey; and continue to change my life for the better every step of the way.

No Texas Pete

Today was our buffer day. A day planned into the schedule to allow for any travel snafus that may come our way. Fortuneately we did not have any and today was just a day of rest for us. After a day and a half of virtually no sleep for both of us, LA and I had no problems going to sleep last night. Unfortuneately, we did have a hard time staying asleep. About 3:30am local time, we were wide awake carrying on a full conversation with each other in the bed. About a hour and a half later, we tried to go back to sleep and ended up sleeping until 1pm. I guess our bodies finally gave in. We woke up refreshed and ready to conquer the day...but there was nothing to conquer. Well nothing toward the adoption process that is. We did have to conquer a few challenges of being in a new place. How does the shower work? How do you light the gas stove? Where do you find the matches to light the stove? How do you prepare a meal under the circumstances? How do you know how to cook the few items we bought when the instructions are written in a new language? And how in the world do we eat a meal without Texas Pete? For those that know me best, Texas Pete is a staple in Big E's world! And tonight would have been perfect for it. LA cooked us a fried egg sandwich with a slice of ham, along with some white rice. All excellent choices for the Texas Pete! But I survived and learned a life lesson...you CAN eat plain food! One realization occured to me today as I was sitting at the small table in the middle of the kitchen watching LA prepare our first meal over here. It took 11 years and a trip a quarter way around the world and to another continent to get her to cook for me! If I knew that was all it was going to take I would have done it alot sooner! Just kidding sweetheart :) We did receive word today that our official journey of the process starts early tomorrow morning. Hopefully we will get some sleep tonight and be ready to start fresh in the morning. Today was a much needed day of rest. A day of adjusting to the newness of the world we are in. I must close with a shout out to what has become some of our new dearest friends, Shelly and Eugene. They helped us with a couple challenges today and being able to communicate with them while they are over here on the second part of their journey is comforting. Thanks doesn't say enough.

A Series of Firsts

Good evening from Downtown Kiev. We safely made it to our apartment after a whirlwind day and a half of travel. Yesterday and today have been 2 days of many firsts for me. My first transatlantic flight. My first time out of the U.S. My first time in Europe. My first time exiting an airplane on the tarmac and having to take a bus to the terminal. My first time ever going thru customs and getting the first stamp on my passport. My first time exchanging currency. My first time shopping in a market that I didn't know what I was looking at. Get my drift? As you could imagine, I admittedly went through the past 2 days with alot of anxiety and a little bit of fear. Conguering these hurdles is just the beginning of a whole lot more firsts in our lives. Am going to sign out for now and go get some much needed rest. 36 hours with no sleep. Unfortuneately, I cannot add that as a first... Here's to many more firsts on our journey and I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to what I am imagining as the greatest first yet to come...our daughter saying hi to us for the first time as her new Mama and Papa.

Up, Up, and Away

As I sit here in the airport, the Pixar movie "UP" comes to mind. The cover of the DVD and all the promotional materials to be exact.

If you haven't seen the images, they are of an older man, a house, and little boy, and they are all rising into the sky holding onto hundreds of brilliantly colored balloons.

This image explains my life right now. Each of the balloons is a feeling, emotion, etc that is engulfing my very being.

My anxiety is up. My excitement is up. My emotions are up. My adrenaline is up. My heart is up. My readiness to be a Papa is up.

Soon...very soon...LA and I will be up. Up in the air on our way to Bring Nastya Home.

Each of those balloons carries with it the hopes and dreams of a little girl and a soon to be proud Mama and Papa. My wish is that today is just the start of something big. That our balloons can carry us through this voyage and that the brilliant colors duplicate our feelings and emotions.

Each one of you that helped us get to this point, is the giver of each of these balloons. You blew them up and gave us the hope, courage, and resources to make this happen.

So, UP UP AND AWAY we go. My prayer today is that LA and I enjoy this part of the journey and that each of you that supported us along the way are appreciated and loved in a way that words cannot describe.