Thursday, May 07, 2009

Change in plans

Alternative title: "I Am A Big, Fat Liar"

Wednesday was the great paperwork chase. And that it was. We started out at 7:30am and we literally went either 0 km/hour or 200 km/hour (yes, that would be 124 mph) all day. And I do mean LITERALLY.

We survived. :) :)

The most interesting event of the day was being told at 7:30 in the morning that there was a chance we might be able to get the girls' passports in one day. Um, what?? As the day went on, it went from being a small chance to 30% to "if we're lucky" to 80% to "here are your passports; we're picking up the girls and going back to Kyiv tonight. Go pack."

Yeah, it hit us probably about like it just hit you. So as I'm typing this--from KYIV--we are completely done with our adoption process except for picking up the girls' visas, which will happen tomorrow morning at 9am. We have already changed our flights and will be leaving on Saturday morning at 5:30am on Lufthansa. We'll be home Saturday night. Can you believe it? Neither can we, and we're living it. ;)

Our time with the girls has been good. Danielle is already very attached. She's been waiting for a mama and papa for a long time and she gets concerned anytime one of us goes somewhere without everybody (into another building, out of the apartment, etc.). Emily is behaving pretty much as I expected. She was the pet of her groupa, and anytime she cried they gave her a cookie or a toy or whatever she wanted to get her to stop. Let's just say she's not receiving the same treatment now. ;) We had a long episode this afternoon that lasted for a couple of hours and was not pretty. Lots of self-stimulation behaviors--hand-flapping, hitting herself in the head--and just general disdain for doing what I wanted her to do (which was put her slippers on). Funny thing though, I asked her if she wanted to put her slippers on or go to sleep (neither of which she answered) and she continued with her behavior. As soon as I started to get her sleeping pallet out, she reached out and took hold of one of her slippers and put it on. ;)

Emily was pretty much an angel the rest of the evening and had lots of hugs and kisses for me before bedtime. She was not happy about having a bath but I bathed the girls together and she had decided it was okay by the end. Danielle is pretty self-sufficient in the bathtub--she does better than our boys do! They both had a hard time falling asleep tonight which is not a surprise. They are so over-stimulated just from all of the changes of the past few days. It took our boys a few months to really settle into a good sleep pattern, and I'm sure the girls will have a similar adjustment to make.

We are thrilled to be coming home so early; I had really anticipated that if we needed to change our flights it would be to extend our trip. We've got internet in our apartment in Kyiv now so I should be able to blog over the next couple of days. Sorry for the lack of pictures--we haven't had time to take any!

19 comments:

Erin said...

YAY!!!! So glad that you have the girls and are on your way HOME! I'm sure the boys will be very happy to see you. I'm so happy for you!

Rachel said...

Congratulations! I am excited for you to be able to travel so quickly to bring your girls home!

Diana said...

Once again, you guys pulled off one of the fastest Ukrainian adoptions ever! Good luck on your journey home!

Matthew was a lot like Emily when we first picked him up. Poor kid was absolutely terrified and just had no idea what we wanted him to do - which frustrated him to no end! It wasn't until we showed him a picture of his orphanage bed on our camera that he understood what he was supposed to do. He, too was given candy or treats or whatever just to get him to stop crying. Watch out. Those same items can now prove to be trauma triggers once you settle in to your new life. Lollipops were the absolute WORST for a long time.

Fair warning...Matthew also screamed (aka shriked) and rocked on all fours pretty much the entire flight home. One of the best things we did was find him a sippy cup before we left Ukraine. We filled it with watered down juice and he hugged it like a prized teddy bear the whole time. It was a life saver.

Unknown said...

Wow, that is amazing! Hooray for smooth sailing! so far. Good luck with your trip home.

Sarah Halter said...

Woohoo! It seems you have Godspeed in Ukraine. I'm so excited to hear that you have the girls and are on your way home shortly!

Debora Hoffmann said...

Oh, WOW! I am so impressed and am praising God for this quick process for you all. Hope ours can be quick, too! :-)

Yes...pictures...please... LOL!

adopting2fromUkraine said...

Well, if plans were going to change, at least it's for the better!:)

Hope things go quickly tomorrow.

June

Lyndi said...

Wow, that was FAST!!! So glad you ended up with a short trip, prayers for everything to go smoothly tomorrow, and safe travels on Saturday :)

Tami said...

I was going to say you had the best 'luck' when it comes to Ukranian adoptions, but we all know it isn't luck. I have to admit, though, I'm more than a bit jealous! :) Congratulations! And we'll be praying for a wonderfully uneventful flight home. ;>)

Unknown said...

I know how excited you must be. God is great and always provides! I will be keeping your family in my prayers as you all transition back home.

Tonya said...

WAHHOOOOOO!:):):) What a BLESSING!

Lyra did some of the same things Emily is doing. She was used to getting a pretzle or a toy for screaming and kicking on the floor so she pulled out all the stops for the first little while. She also did the hand flapping thing. It will probably all subside with consitant training. She'll learn:). They both sound like dolls.

Marsha said...

What a wonderful Mother's Day gift for you Courtney! To be able to be with all 4 of your children for the first time! congratulations and God Bless!!

Anonymous said...

oh...my...goodness...so happy for you all and can't wait to meet the girls! What a special mother's day for you!! Whitney

Flush said...

YAY!!!! Now...those behaviors you described from Emily....were Georgiy all the way. He made a noise, they shoved a cookie in his mouth. If he wanted a toy that someone else had...they ripped iit out of the child's hand and gave it to him. You get the picture.

He tantrummed for a good while. He still has "Little Prince Syndrome" as we call it. It is getting better but maaaaaan...if he decides he does not want to do something...watch out.

So glad you guys are on the way home!

his wife, their mama said...

Such exciting news! We are so glad that your family will be together in such a short while. Hugs to you all!

tiffers said...

That is so awesome! Just more proof (as if you needed any) that this is where God has brought you and the girls He had planned for you all along. We love you and think about you often.

Leslie G said...

awesome news!
Praying for a smooth journey back home!!!

ArtworkByRuth said...

Slava Bogu! I am just so amazed! So glad something goes right for a family in Ukraine now and again! God bless your journey home!

Kevin and Tammy said...

Great news. It will be great to be home and have your family all together. I will pray that things will transition easily for you. I will be hard for them to adjust to the new schedule.
Tammy