Friday, March 04, 2011

You guys are funny

I get that you're being totally sincere, and I do appreciate the well-wishes and congratulations, but I am NOT thrilled about having the girls with me. :) Trust me, it is much easier to just have a few days with them here in Ukraine before being able to go home as opposed to a week and a half.

I am in a city where I don't know anyone, barely speak the language, and have two small children with whom I can't communicate. There is no part of this that is fun. We've already had multiple wailing fits this morning (from both girls--and it's only 9am). I know they're grieving, I know everything is different for them, and it is for me too. I don't know them and they don't know me. To them I am another caretaker, but one that they can't talk to and that they have a hard time understanding. Bianca has wet the bed two nights in a row, not because she's a bedwetter but because in the orphanage they get in trouble for getting up at night, so she doesn't know she can get up to go to the bathroom (we're already working on this one). So I've been washing laundry in a bathtub every morning and I expect that to continue.

Right now we do not expect to have the girls' passports until next THURSDAY. This is not wait a few days and head home. We are here in a small apartment for awhile. Thankfully it's been sunny (although a little cold still, but better than a couple of weeks ago) but all of the playgrounds are still covered in snow so our only "exercise" is to walk. We walked to Kreschatik yesterday and I'm thinking we'll hit Independence Square today--once we get through the wailing fits. ;)

I am thankful that the girls are ours, but we have never wanted to take our kids from the orphanages early for this very reason. It is very hard on them and us, and it is difficult to set boundaries when you are still nowhere near home. So we're working on it and I know this is good bonding time together. I know God did this for a reason and I don't question that at all. But it doesn't mean I have to like it! :)

8 comments:

liz kulp said...

when is hubby coming for reinforcement??

Courtney said...

LOL Sunday, Liz. :) I'm counting down the days but I'm about to start counting down the hours. ;) We've been able to Skype the last two days so that's been nice too. With all of the traveling the first few days I couldn't communicate with anyone. :)

The McEacherns said...

That's sort of what I was thinking! (Hence by comment of, "Wow!" It's hard to entertain kids in a cold and snowy foreign country, much less kids who don't speak English and have just come to know you. Praying things ease up a bit, and for wisdom, patience and grace for you. And maybe passports earlier than expected...

Diana said...

Oh, I remember those days well. We had our older son for 3 weeks before we sprung his baby brother. He was completely nuts and then his brother screamed 8 hours a day for the next 5 months. No exageration. We found some lego type blocks at one of the flea markets. They were a God-send. We also did a lot of crazy stuff like play teddy bear soccer with beach balls and did bubbles and all kinds of stuff like that.

Tamara said...

Okay...so my excuse is that I didn't realize you weren't getting the passports until NEXT Thursday. That's a long time. I'm so glad Marc will be able to make it there this weekend to help out. In the meantime, we're thinking of you and praying for sanity to reign. There are a couple of missionaries in the Kiev region who may be able to lend a hand. I don't know them personally, but know from reading their blogs that they definitely have a heart for adoptive families. Would you like me to help get you in touch with them?

Winnie said...

Bless your heart. Your right, that's probably the most stressful time. The kids are freaked out, your stressed, tired and every task becomes an EVENT. Hang in there - like you have a choice not to! Can your translator help you out with the language barrier a little?

BT said...

OK, I posted my huge congratulations comment without thinking back to my own experience of having two young boys with us for 2 weeks in Kiev, in a strange, somewhat underequipped apartment, without any assistance communicating with the boys, who were reeling, and so forth and so on. Your new post about the whining fits is now bringing it all back. Haven't really thought about those tough days very much in 6 years. But, boy, those days were tough on all of us. And I had my husband to tag team with.

Sooo, I'm changing my congratulations to sympathies!!

Our mission said...

Hi Courtney, I hadn't checked your blog in a little while. We'll be praying for you as you and your girls adjust to one another that God will give you strength, energy, sleep (?) and wisdom and that God will give you his GRACE through it and help you keep His perspective in the trying times. John and our big girls were delayed there with our 2 adopted kids for over a week (maybe 2) and it was very challenging, though Joshua is very low level so that was a bit overwhelming to assume his care and Lily has DS and was very stubborn with eating and into everything... yours seem high level which in some ways makes it easier as far as the level of physical care, but in others probably harder--esp. with maybe them feeling upset about their world turning upside down and not being able to communicate with you with the language barrier. Nonetheless, we understand how hard it is to start off when you are not really "in control" of your surroundings like at home and in a strange place trying to get by. We'll be praying for you. love, the Adamsons