Reason to be Thankful

We took the overnight train to Zaporizhzya.  This time we requested to be upgraded to a sleeping car that we did not have to share with 2 other people.  The hope was to get better sleep, but that did not happen.  We finally arrived at 6:40 am and we went to unload our bags, get a shower, and then off to start the process.  They hit the ground running here.

We got to the Inspector's office.  The director promised to be there at 9:00, but that is Ukrainian speak for "I ain't coming."  Fortunately, the chief of our particular area was there and agreed to accompany us to the orphanage.  When we arrived, we saw that the roof had been blown off by a storm that struck 3 nights ago.  The place was a mess. 

Once inside, we saw Tolya and Yulia, who visited us in 2005.  He is 6'1" and she is strikingly beautiful.  We went into the director's office and took our seats.  The climate was obviously of official nature.  Moments later, our girl came in and it was so great.  Big smiles, big hugs.  The rep from the inspector's office did not need to observe long before she decided to leave.  We went through all of the formalities and she signed the paperwork which said she wanted to be part of our family!  3 1/2 years later, here we go!

Last year, I had to go home for the funeral of my father, so I missed this time with Chris.  I am grateful for this time.  

After we finished all the official stuff, we saw Avraam and Masha.  They looked so great.  I believe we will take them out on the town tomorrow.  

All of our paperwork is well on it's way and we should have things ready to petition the court at the first of the week.  This is a far cry from the process we experienced in Kiev.  Keep praying for the court date to be granted soon.  Thanks for all the kind words on the blog.  Please eat some turkey for us.

Blessings,

Ande