Only two days...but it feels like a lifetime

For the first time in a while, we were able to sleep in today...until 6:30 am. Our trip to the airport was uneventful until about 10 minutes before we arrived. Candace had...how can I put this...some trouble. A word for the wise, never eat foreign fruit for breakfast and then embark on a 30 minute ride in the back of a fast moving minivan if you get motion sickness. Fortunately, the doctor, Alexandra, and myself were in the row behind her. Unfortunately, the floor, the two walls, and the ceiling of the van were ahead of her, as was the poor driver. I am not sure if it was all of the raspberries this morning or the week of eating borscht, but it was something else. I write this as Candace laughs hysterically beside me. To give her credit, as we were stopped at the side of the road with the driver cleaning the van and me cleaning off Candace she was laughing as well, although it was more of a combined laughing / crying thing.

After our little diversion, we started off again for the airport. Candace still wasn't feeling 100% so I got to sit with Alexandra for the whole flight. While I felt bad for my wife I couldn't complain about the excellent seating arrangements. At the airport we were greeted by another facilitator who was accompanied by one of the other couples that we connected with earlier in the week. It was a incredibly proud moment, I let the two bags go that I was pulling, picked Alexandra up, took her hat off, fixed her hair, and walked over to the other couple to show her off. Things are working out for them as well so we could not be happier. The 90 minute drive back was interesting...we had all of our bags with us so in order to get them into the trunk the driver wrapped the spare tire in a blanket and put it on the floor of the back seat. Then, we picked up the doctor's daughter who attends university in the city to which we flew. So, there were five adults, a three-and-a-half year old, and a full size spare in a car about the size of a Dodge Neon. Everyone seemed okay though, Candace and Alexandra slept, the doctor and her daughter visited, the driver drove, and I alternated looking at the countryside with head turns to make sure that my two girls were sleeping soundly. We got back to our new "home town" around 2:30 pm. We stopped at the orphanage first and I as I carried Alexandra in I started humming again quietly. Within about ten feet, and for the duration of our walk to her room, she sang her song once more. I am not sure what the words are, but when I hear it, I imagine she is singing "I love Mommy, I love Daddy" over and over again. Given all that she had been through since early yesterday morning, Candace and I decided that we would let her rest for the remainder of the day. It was so great to spend two full days with Alexandra. I imagine all parents are pretty biased when it comes to their children but I have to say she is amazing. When we first arrived at the hotel, Candace and I spent about an hour talking about her and all of the things that she did during our trip. Most amazingly was the fact that none of it seemed to faze her. She did many things she had never done before and she did it with curious eyes wide open and a smile on her face.

Some of the comments yesterday sort of asked about the process. Here is a quick overview of what we expect to happen. On Monday, we visit the local inspector and it takes a couple of days for him to approve the adoption. Then we wait for a court date, which could take place any time in the next two weeks. After the court date, there is a mandatory ten-day waiting period until the adoption is finalized. Until then we will stay in this faraway place, visiting the orphanage in the morning from 9:00 - 12:00 and then later from 3:30 - 6:00. After the waiting period expires, Alexandra is officially ours. We will then head back to Kiev for 2 - 3 days to get her passport and visa before getting back on the plane for Winnipeg and our new family life back home. So in 15 - 25 days, we will be back, and I will start thinking of reasons why all the four year old boys in town are nothing but trouble and why they have no business calling my daughter.

The David family visits the big city

When we opened up our blog we could not believe that there were 31 comments posted. Candace was so excited that she moved her chair forward quickly and caught the power button with her knee. We waited excitedly as the computer started for the second time. Well...I don't know what to say. As we read the comments the two of us ended up having tears in our eyes too. This was mildly awkward given that the other 15 people in the internet cafe were teenage boys playing some online game together. In reality, it did not matter to either of us because it was so nice to feel connected to home as we read down the page. I was actually more embarrassed when I had to call the lady over to restart our internet account.

Allright...we woke up at 2:00 am...Candace with five hours sleep and me about three. We got picked up in a cab by the driver, a doctor from the orphanage, and Alexandra. She slept for most of the 90 minute ride to the airport but I still spent most of the time looking at her from the front seat. She was great with the plane...a little scared when we traveled by bus from the terminal then walked up the stairs. Things are different over here, even at the airports. We spent the hour long flight playing with a doll and an etch-a-sketch. When we arrived in Kiev we were picked up by people from the agency. Our first stop was a pizza shop for breakfast. I ate quickly and watched for about 10 minutes as this little girl devoured several pancakes and a big bowl of porridge. I realized that this whole day would involve watching her experience a bunch of things she had never experienced before. The food, the driving in a car, all of the people in the city. We had already spent several days in Kiev but it certainly looked alot more exciting as I watched her head swing from side to side as she soaked up everything with her eyes. After breakfast, we went to a photo studio for her passport picture. On the walk there, I was humming "la la la" as I carried Alexandra. Out of nowhere she started belting out some Russian song at the top of her lungs. As we moved down the crowded sidewalk, strangers were smiling and laughing, while I kept humming quietly to encourage her more. I am not sure what the song was but she sang it a few more times throughout the day. While I don't know what the heck the words were I can't seem to get the tune out of my head. At the photo studio, the facilitator also suggested that we take a family photo. I was okay with us despite almost getting choked up as we posed for the photographer. Our first family picture. Then we went to the hospital for her medical. Everything was excellent...she is extremely healthy. The doctor that accompanied us said that she has only ever had chicken pox and one cold in her life. The doctor that performed the medical said she is a very bright young girl with excellent motor skills. So we may have a point guard in the family now. At the end of the visit, one of the ladies started laughing. When we asked her why she pointed at Alexandra and said that she saw her mimicking Candace. I looked and the two of them had their hands buried in their front pocket and were slowly swaying side to side. After lunch, we dropped the doctor and Alexandra off at the apartment and we left for what was supposed to be a short visit to the notary public. The visit was pretty significant because we were submitting the offical papers that stated that we wanted to adopt this little girl who we first saw in a picture on Tuesday and met for the first time yesterday. It kind of blows my mind to think about how quickly things have unfolded and how fortunate we have been. Just to clarify, our experience has been far from typical. We have been blessed by having tremendous facilitators, excellent drivers, incredible people at the orphanage, great timing, and lots of luck and good fortune. We ended up waiting at the Notary office from just after 2:00 until almost 6:30 pm. They were running late and lots of people were coming in without appointments. We didn't mind the wait but we were eager to get back to the apartment and visit. When we did return around 7:00 pm, we had supper, then threw a blanket on the middle of the floor and played and visited until about 8:30 pm, when Candace made us all go to bed. I was exhausted but I spent about 30 minutes lying back and thinking about what was happening to us, and how it would change the rest of our lives.

New beginnings...and frequent flyer points

After perhaps three hours sleep between the two of us, we woke up at 5:00 am. We left for the airport at 6:00 for a 7:50 flight to the eastern side of the country. We were met at the airport by one of the ladies who had a driver waiting for us. We drove about an hour and a half through what I will describe now as a whole different world. We arrived at our new destination...which will likely be our home for about three weeks. When we were dropped off at the orphanage by the driver we actually arrived before our new translator. After sort of becoming familiar with Ukrainian, we have ended up in a city filled with Russian speaking people. When our translator arrived, we went into the large office of the orphanage director. We started speaking (through the interpreter) to one of the doctor's of the orphanage. He told us everything was fine with the little girl we were visiting. As we were talking, the door opened and in came a beautiful little girl with a beret in her hair and a fancy blue dress. She said "Mama" and "Papa" and then came right over to me. I picked her up, put her on my lap, and maybe forgot what my name was for a moment. Candace gave her a cookie and that's how we met our daughter. Okay...where to start, she is normal height, short fair hair, dark brown eyes, and skinny as a post. Our goal now is to fill her full of protein in the next couple of weeks to put some meat on her bones. Given the diet of many of the children in orphanages, there are not many plump children that aren't infants. Her name is Mila Alexandra and she goes by her middle name. Alexendra is her birth name and we are adding Mila (its Russian meaning is "loved by all"). She is three and a half and pretty shy, although she warmed up to us quickly. We spent the day getting settled into our new place, going back and forth to the orphanage, and visiting the travel agent (three times). This new city is a lot different from Kiev.

It's just after eight now and Candace and I are heading to bed soon because we are leaving tomorrow at 3:00 am for a 90 minute ride to the airport. We are flying back to Kiev with Alexandra and one of the doctors for her medical at the Canadian Embassy...which I mentioned before is mandatory for adoptions. We will spend the night there before returning back here. It will be great to have a day-and-a-half to spend with our new daughter. I say "daughter" because she is the one. It takes a couple of weeks of meeting with local inspectors, a court appearance, and then a compulsory 10-day waiting period for it to become official. That being said, a piece of paper will only be a formality. For the plane trip we picked up some quiet toys and healthy snacks.

We better get going...thanks for all of the supportive comments. Once we get back on Saturday I will try to figure out how to post some pictures.

Things are happening quickly!

I woke up at 7:30 am and got right out of bed. Today will be a fairly busy day. We have a meeting with the agency coordinator this morning, we have to book out travel, and we go and get our official invitation to the orphanage at 5:00 pm. I am writing this at the internet cafe at the city's main post office. It is located in the main square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) of downtown Kiev. The two other couples are on their way this morning to visit the other orphanages. Like us, they are traveling to the eastern side of the country.

When we had our meeting with the coordinator, we found out some incredible news. We are going to be flying tomorrow morning (Thursday). We will visit the orphange, observe the child and then interact with her. Then, if we choose to go forward with the adoption, we will be coming back to Kiev on Friday for her medical. Any child adopted from the Ukraine must be given an examination by one of three Canadian doctors registered with our Embassy. Then if everything works out we will go back across country on Saturday to set our court appearance which could happen shortly thereafter. After the court appearance, there is a mandatory 10 day waiting period (including weekends and holidays) before final approval is given. Then I guess it means we come back to Canada. We could be back as soon as early in the new year...or as we say over here, back in time for Christmas on January 7th.

Well, that's going to be it for now. I expect that the next couple of days will be a whirlwind so I am not sure if I will get a chance to update this blog for a while. Keep checking back and keep your fingers crossed that everything works out for us. We are going to do a bit of shopping and head back to have a little rest before our next appointment at 5:00 pm. It is raining outside and very mild yet I remembered that our hometown Christmas Concert was last night or maybe tonight. Well, it certainly feels like we have received a tremendous Christmas gift over here. We miss everyone and can't wait to get back home to see you all. By the way, happy birthday to our neice Kelci who turns seven today.

After my birthday, December 12 is my new favourite day

I woke up fairly early today. I had some cereal and some tea (Red Rose from Candace's newly recovered suitcase). I spent some time preparing for our meeting today and then I read a Ukrainian travel guide for 40 minutes. When Candace awoke, we went for a walk in our neighbourhood and took some pictures. We stopped at a neat coffee shop down the street from the Canadian Embassy. When we got back to our apartment, we spent about one hour learning some more Ukrainian. Then we got ready and were picked up at 1:30 pm. By picked up I mean someone came to our door and we joined them for a walk across the city. It was probably equivalent to walking from Polo Park to Portage and Main. There are taxis everywhere and people in private vehicles will even stop and give you a ride for payment. Yet everyone walks. This trip is challenging my beliefs about eating poorly and not getting enough exercise. Our appointment was at 2:00 pm but did not start until 2:10 pm. We were led to a small office at the Department of Sport and Youth. A psychologist (using and interpreter) asked us some questions and then provided us with dossiers which profiled four girls (ages months /years were 1-6, 2-0, 3-5, and 3-8). I stopped listening after I saw the picture of the second girl. As soon as I saw her face I thought "Please God make sure everything is alright with her". And guess what...she is a perfectly healthy and active child who was described as friendly and full of life. So Candace and I will return to the adoption office tomorrow to pick up a referral to the orphange. We will be traveling to a small town in eastern Ukraine on Thursday. It is either a 10 hour train ride or a one hour flight. Despite the difference in price, $150. per person versus $20. per person, we will be going by air. Again...we will be meeting a little girl on Thursday who may well become our daughter. How cool is that! This blog entry sounds all warm and fuzzy when I reread it, but the day was not without its challenges. You see, we were approved in Manitoba for a girl between 14 mos and 3 years and the little girl with whom we were matched is 3 years and 8 months old. In spite of being told by our facilitator that it could be difficult to get her approved, we said the heck with it. We even tried to call the Canadian Embassy seceral times during our meeting but no one answered. So we left the adoption centre hoping to be approved to adopt someone who appeared to be out of our approved age range. Candace and I then went to an internet cafe where I searched for some phone numbers. First I called te agency back in Winnipeg but got the answering machine...probably because it was still prior to 8:00 am back home. Then I tried repeatedly to get through to the Immigration Department at the Embassy without any luck. So we went back to our apartment and sat around on pins and needles waiting for the phone to ring. Around 6:00 pm it rang! It was the director of the agency in Winnipeg who said "You have nothing to worry about Stephen. 3 years old is 3 years old is 3 years old". So we would be approved for any child up to 3 years and 364 days. After doing some cart wheels and an improvised happy dance, I called one of the other couples to share our news. They were just sitting doiwn for supper at the Chateau Restaurant down town. So we got ready quickly for the 15 minute walk to join them. It was a great experience...everyone was excited about what was happening and we were toasting and congratulating each other repeatedly. We got back to our apartment around 9:00, turned off the lights at 10:00, and ended up talking until 1:00. Finally, we got out of bed, played a game of cards, before falling asleep around 1:30. I cannot for the life of me understand why we had trouble sleeping.

We slept well

Candace and I woke up about 2 am and talked for an hour. We fell back asleep and then slept until 11:30 am. This was probably the latest that I have slept in 20 years. At about noon the doorbell rang and Candace's luggage arrived. That was great news because her clothes that we washed last night were still wet.

We got a call that we were going to be picked up in 15 minutes. We rushed to get ready and then joined the two other couples and our escorts downstairs. We walked for about 15 minutes to a cafe where we had lunch. Our facilitators left us alone and we visited and talked about the appointments the other couples had this morning. Then we went to the notary public to get some documents signed. We then had to walk home. Despite directions we got got a bit lost...we need to carry a map at all times. Kiev is a big city (3 million people) and it is easy to get turned around. Fortunately, we came to the main square which we were familiar with. We went into the internet cafe and checked out a city map online to find our way back.

Sunday in Kiev

Today we had lunch with three facilitators and two other couples who were adopting. Interestingly, in the middle of Kiev we were sitting at a Japanese resturant. The new couple we met was L2 and B2 from Manitoba. We reviewed the procedures for our appointment at the adoption centre and talked about what else might happen during our trip. After this we went to a dark and smoky internet cafe where I caught up on the last few days. Just to let everyone know...things are going very well. We are really excited to be over here, there are good people helping us, and, most importantly, we will be meeting the little one soon. We decided we would try to walk back to our apartment. Unfortunately, all of the buildings look the same and we got a bit lost. We decided to get a cab around 4:00 pm because it was getting dark. The sun sets really early here. The cab cost $3.00 but the driver did not have any change. He tried a couple of nearby stands but to no avail. Eventually he settled for about $2.50.

Candace's mother phoned around 5:00 pm. It was nice to hear a voice from home. At 6:00 pm we walked about 15 minutes to join the other couples for supper. We were joined by a teacher from Saskatchewan who is working in Kiev. We ate at an authentic restaurant called "Kozak Mamay". I had the chicken kiev which seemed appropriate given the city we were visiting. Walking home I was struck by a couple of things - the people here are very affectionate, and everyone smokes everywhere. Once back at the apartment, Candace and I did some laundry in the tub and sink. With our appointments tomorrow and Tuesday, all of us are getting quite anxious. That being said, as a result of our cumulative efforts, there will be four or five Ukrainian children living in Canada in 2007.