Oh ... They're Adorable!!!

After our referral appointment ... we were anxious to get to Kherson and meet our baby girls!

We returned to the SDA the next afternoon/evening ... picked up the necessary paperwork ... then we shopped a little around Kyiv ... buying a few toys for the girls ... check out of our apartment and then headed for the train station.

We were able to purchase one whole compartment ... complete with 4 spacious :o) beds! The train in Ukraine is ... ... an experience! :o) I'm very grateful we had the privacy of a compartment with just us and Kostya.

After arriving in Kherson ... we were picked up by Max in his 20 year old BMW! Trying to fit all of our luggage in the car was quite the experience. Poor Kostya was in the front seat with at least 2 ... maybe three bags with him! :o)

We went straight from the train station to begin meeting with Social Workers. Did I mention there was no shower ... no fixing the hair, etc. :o) Finally in the early afternoon we were able to go meet Juliya Grace.

When they brought her into the room where we were waiting ... I first noticed that she was such a tiny, little pixie doll ... with a BEAUTIFUL smilel and LONG eyelashes. I'm sure she was very nervous. She was shown to a table and given crayons, paper, etc. to play with. She did fine for awhile ... then began to look sad and started crying. Kostya was able to talk to her and say he would take her back to her groupa ... but he asked her to tell us good bye first. This is a picture of her just about to walk back to me and say good-bye. She was sad and unsure ... but so adorable and sweet!! Saying goodbye to Juliya was followed by a quick meeting with the orphanage director ... who basically told us not to come back until Monday ... because Juliya had cried at our first meeting she thought it would be best for us to make sure we connect with "the younger girl" before we came back to see Juliya. We reluctantly agreed to her request.

Later in the afternoon we were able to go to Nataliya's orphanage and meet her. When she was brought into the room ... she walked right up to Chris and climbed into his lap. A moment we will never forget!!

After visiting with her orphanage director ... who was an absolute sweetheart ... we were shown to a playroom where we played with Nataliya for about an hour. She warmed up so quickly and enjoyed playing with us. I do remember she was also ready to go back to her groupa when the time came.

I'll always cherish this picture of Nataliya holding her Papa's finger ... after having known him for only an hour or so!! She did love playing with the same toys over and over and over again!!

During this visit with Nataliya ... we also met Deb and Rob who were there from Cincinnati, Ohio adopting their daughter ... now named Aly. It was also great to meet another American couple ... and we are grateful for our ongoing friendship with them.

So ... today we celebrate the one year anniversary of meeting our sweet daughters! It is hard to believe it has been a year ... wow!!

Thanks for celebrating our journey!!